
Book__i_LfLfc.__ 



COPYRIGHT OEPOSfT. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS; 



A SUCCINCT HISTORY 



POLITICS OF ILLINOIS 



FROM 1856 TO 1884, 



WITH ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS, 



APPENDIX FKOM 18 09 TO 1856 



COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. 



By D. W. LUSK. 



>s. 






SPIUNGFIELD, ILLINOIS. 
1884. 



, v— 



c^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1883, 

By D. W. LUSK, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



H. W. ROKKER, 

Printer, Stereotyper and Binder, 

Springfleld.IU. 



PREFACE. 



The purpose of the writer in presenting this volume to 
the public has been to put into convenient form the 
political history of the State, and to outline succinctly 
the National politics from the time Washington was 
elected President to the inauguration of President Arthur, 
together with anecdotes and incidents, bringing vividly to 
view the men and the measures that have contributed in 
giving Illinois so proud a position in the sisterhood of 
States. In the personal mention, the writer has not 
sought to elevate the character of one man by detracting 
from that of another; nor has he endeavored to belittle 
one political party for the purpose of reflecting lustre 
upon another; but has dealt impartially with both men 
and parties, and in a spirit of perfect candor and fair- 
ness, dealing only with the truth of history as he has 
found it. In the collation of facts the writer has been 
guided by the records as preserved in the archives of 
the State and the official publications of the National 
Government, which he has examined personally, and he 
hazards the belief that the volume will be found authentic 
and reliable in all its details. 

Finally, he has not prepared a book for the hour, to 
be read and cast aside, but one which comprehends in 



IV PBEFACE. 

brief the history of the State for more than a quarter of 
a century — from 1856 to 1884 — written from personal 
observation. In the Appendix, he has collected from the 
best sources and with absolute care the leading incidents 
and facts in the history of the Territory and State from 
1809 and 1818 to 1856. In the seventy-five years in which 
Illinois has been a part of the government of the Nation 
she has ever occupied a prominent position, and her 
history is replete with many stirring and thrilling events,, 
and her progress in all matters which tend to render a 
State grand or great has been marvelous, of which a 
faithful record is given. 

Spkingfield, Illinois, June 1, 1884. 



CONTENTS AND INDEX, 



Page. 

CHAPTER I-Political Parties 1-10 

Formation of parties, 1. First election of Washington without 
political significance, 1. Election of John Adams as a Federalist, 
1. JefTerson elected as a Republican, 1. Madison as a Republi- 
can, 1. Monroe as a Republican, 2. JohniQuincy Adams as a 
Coalitionist, 2. .Tackson as a Democrat. 2. Van Buren as a Dem- 
ocrat, 2. Harrison as a Whig, 2. Polk as a Democrat, 2. Taylor 
as a Whig, 2. Pierce as a Democrat, 2. Buchanan as a Demo- 
crat, 2. Only Presidents elected by the House of Representa- 
tives, 2. National Conventions, 2. Federal Party, 3. Demo- 
cratic, 3. National Republican, 3. Whig, 3. Abolition, 3. Free 
Soil, 3. Know-Nothing, 3. Native American, 3. Republican, 5. 
Slavery Question, 7. Election of Bissell, 6. Dred Scott Decision, 
7. Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 9. Attempt to make Kan- 
sas a slave State, 9. 

CHAPTER Il-Slavery Agitation 10-31 

Why a New Party was Necessary, 10. Missouri Compromise of 
1820,12. Compromise Measures of 1850. 16, Repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise of 1820. 21. Douglas Denied theRight of Free Speech 
in Chicago, 24. Organization of the Republican Party, 25. Three 
Branches of the Government Pro-Slavery, 29. Growth of the Re- 
publican Party, (30. Caucus at Williamsville, 3t). First Republi- 
can Convention at Cairo, 30. First Republican caucus at Metrop- 
olis. 31. 

CHAPTER III— State Campaign of 1856 32-35 

First Republican State Ticket, 33. Democratic, 33. Native Amer- 
ican, 33. Republican Success, 33. Aggregate Vote for State Ofli- 
cers, 33, Members of Congress, 34. Electoral Tickets, 36. 

CHAPTER IV-State Government, 1857 36-42 

Twentieth General Assembly, 36. Closing Words of Matteson's 
last Annual Message, 38. Extracts from Gov. Bissell's Inaugural 
Address, 39-40, 

CHAPTER V— State Campaign of 1858 42-45 

Three Tickets: Republican, 43. Democrat, 43. Buchanan Demo- 
crat, 43. Aggregate Vote for State Officers, 43. Aggregate Vote 
by Districts for Members of Congress, 44. 



VI CONTENTS AND INDEX. 

Page. 

CHAPTER VI-Douglas and Liucoln-1858 45-94 

Lincoln's Challenge of Douglas for a Joint Debate, 49. Douglas' 
Eeply, 49. Lincoln's Eejoinder. 51. Debate at Freeport, 53. 

CHAPTER Vll-State Government-1859 94-98 

Twenty-flrst General Assembly, 94. Closing words of Governor 
Bissell's Message on National Affairs, 97. 

CHAPTER VIII-State".Campaign of ISGO 99-110 

Four State Tickets. 99. Four Electoral Tickets, 103. AggregateVote 
for State Ofiicers, 101. Aggregate Vote for Congressmen, by Dis- 
tricts, 102. Aggregate Vote for Electors, 103. How Lovejoy Con- 
quered Prejudice, 105. An Attempt to Kidnap Richard Yates, 106. 
How Lovejoy Helped the :Democrats, 108. Yates and the Ken- 
tucky Colonel, 109. "It Made Our Very Hair Frizzle, " 109. 

CHAPTER IX-State Government-1861 110-121 

Twenty-second General Assembly, 110. Yates' Message, 113. 
Special Session, 117. Yates' Message, 118. 

CHAPTER X-Secession— Prosecution of the War 122-131 

Speech of Lyman Trumbull, 122. Speech of John A. McClernand, 
120. Speech of Owen Lovejoy, 127. Speech of John F. Farns- 
worth, 129. Speech of Isaac N. Arnold. 130. 

CHAPTER XI-Beforethe Conflict 131-136 

Lincoln's Departure for Washington, 132. Farewell Words at 
Springfield, 133. Speech at Cincinnati, 133. Inaugural Message, 
134. Resignation of Southern Senators and Representatives, 136. 
Vulgar Cartoon of Lincoln by Harper's Weekly, 135. 

CHAPTER XII— Stephen A. Douglas 136-142 

Douglas' Prophecy, 136. Avows His Determination to Stand by 
President Lincoln, 137. His Patriotic Address at Springfield, 138. 
Speech at Chicago, 139. Death at Chicago, 141. Monument to 
His Memory, 142. 

CHAPTER XIII— Constitutional Convention of 1862 142-144 

Assumed Powers not Delegated, 143. Rejection of the Constitu- 
tion, 144. Adoption of Article Relating to Megroes and Mulat- 
toes, 144. 

CHAPTER XIV— State Campaign of 1862 145-147 

CHAPTER XV-State Government-1863 147-162 

Stirring Message of Governor Yates, 150. Peace Resolutions, 151. 
Counter Resolutions, 155. Vote on the Minority and Majority Re- 
ports, 158. Senator Funk, 159. Prorogation, 161. Decision of 
Supreme Court, 162. 

CHAPTER XVI-State Campaign of 1864 162-166 

CHAPTER XVII-State Goverament-1865 167-170 

Twenty-fourth General Assembly, 167. 

CHAPTER XVIII-Illinois and the War 171-174 

Number of Soldiers Furnished by Counties, 172. Allen C. Fuller, 
173. 



CONTENTS AND INDEX. Vll 

Page. 

CHAPTER XlX-John A. Logau 17-J-181 

A Slander Eefuted, 174. Decliaation to Becomo a Candidate for 
Congressraan-at-Large in 18U2, 17().! Patriotic Address to his 
Command in 18U3, 177. When McPherson Fell. 178. Sherman's 
Official Account of Logan's Gallantry, 178. 

CHAPTER XX-Abraham Lincoln 181-198 

An account of his early manhood as written by himself, 181. 
Speech at Philadelphia, 183. First Inaugural, 184. Speech at 
Gettysburg, 180. Kentucky Letter, 187. Second Inaugural, 18'.». 
Last Speech, 190. Assassination, 195. How Lincoln came to 
Challenge Douglas, 195. Never Ian Abolitionist, 190. " I have 
never kept liquor in my house and will not begin now," 197. A 
One-Idea Court, 197. 

CHAPTER XXI-State Campaign of 18G6 198-200 

CHAPTER XXII-State Government-1867 200-204 

Twenty-flith General Assembly, 201. 

CHAPTER XXIII-State Campaign of 1868 204-208 

CHAPTER XXIV-State Government-1869 208-213 

Twenty-sixth General Assembly, 208. 

CHAPTER XXV-Gonstitutional Convention of 1809-70 213-215 

CHAPTER XXVI-State Campaign of 1870 215-217 

CHAPTER XXVII-Fidelity of State Officers 217-220 

Canal Scrip Fraud, 218. Letter of ex-Gov. Matteson to the Com- 
mittee of Investigation, 218. Mortgage of his Property to Secure 
the Payment of $250,000, 219. Macallister & Stebbins Bonds Fraud, 
220. Gov. Bissell's Emphatic Denial of any Knowledge of the 
Fraud, 220. 

CHAPTER XXVIII-State Government-1871 221-226 

Twenty-seventh General Assembly, 221. 

CHAPTER XXIX-State Campaign— 1872 226-234 

Formation of the Liberal Republican Party, 226. Great Defection 
in the Republican Party, 227. Yates' Cabinet Deserts the Re- 
publican Party, 228. Yates Stands by the "Silent Soldier," 228. 
Lippincott True to the Republican Party, 228. Dissolution of the 
New Party, 229. No Democratic Tickets, 230. State Campaign, 
230. Aggregate Vote for State Officers, Members of Congress and 
Presidential Electors, 231. 

CHAPTER XXX-State Government-1873 2.35-242 

Twenty-eighth General Assembly, 235. Closing "Words of Gov. 
Palmer's Message, 239. 

CHAPTER XXXI-State Campaign of 1874 242-244 

CHAPTER XXXII-State Government-1875 .^....245-248 

Twenty-ninth General Assembly, 245. 

CHAPTER XXXIII-A Vision of War 249-251 

Speech of Robert G. IngersoU, 249. 



VIU CONTENTS AND INDEX. 

Page. 
CHAPTER XXXlV-State Campaign of 187ti 251-257 

CHAPTER XXXV-State Government-1877 257-262 

Thirtieth General Assembly, 257. 
CHAPTER XXXVI-State Campaign of 1878 263-266 

CHAPTER XXXVII-Sidney Breese 2G6-270 

He is the Projector of the Illinois Central Railroad, 266. His Won- 
derful Prediction Regarding the Growth and Magnitude of Rail- 
ways in the United States, 269. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII-State Government-1879 270-274 

Thirty-first General Assembly, 270. 
CHAPTER XXXIX-State Campaign of 1880 274-280 

CHAPTER XL-Ulysses S.Grant.... 280-289 

How he first entered the Army in the War for the Union, 281. 
His Correspondence with Lee, 284. An Insult to the President 
and the Nation, 287. 

CHAPTER XLI-State Government-1881 290-293 

Thirty-second General Assembly, 290. 

CHAPTER XLII-0. H.Browning 294-300 

Unpublished Correspondence between Browning and Lincoln. 
295. Browning's personal friendship for Lincoln, and his abso- 
lute Loyalty to his Government, 299. 

CHAPTER XLIII-State Campaign of 1882 301-305 

CHAPTER XLIV-Official Vote for President in 1880 305-316 

Electoral vote of each State in 1884. 306. Vote of Illinois lor 
President and State Oflfieers in 1880, 307. Vote for Congressmen 
in 1882. 309. Vote for Senators in 1880 in counties which have not 
since elected Senators, but which elect Senators in 1884, 313. 

CHAPTER XLV-State Government-18S3., 316-326 

Thirty-third General Assembly, 316. Gov. Cullom's Message, 321. 
Gov. Hamilton's Veto Message of "House Bill No. o(i4," 323. Gov. 
Hamilton on Mob Law, 325. 

CHAPTER XLVI- John Dement •. 326-328 

CHAPTER XL VII-About Colored People 329-353 

Gov. Coles fined $2,000 under the Black Laws, 329. Why Black 
Laws were enacted, 330. Black Laws approved. 333. Vote of the 
State in 1862 on article prohibiting colored emigration, 334. 
Vote of soldiers on prohibition of colored emigration, 334. What 
Connecticut did, 335. What Massachusetts did, 337. What the 
Nation did, 338. Transition from Slavery to Freedom, 339. Whip- 
ped and ordered from the State, 342. A case of kidnapping, 343. 
Tribulations of free negroes, 344. A free colored boy's expe- 
rience. .346. Last attempt to return a fugitive slave, 317. Trials 
of contrabands, 347. Mobbed on account of his vote, 350. First 
colored school, 350. Blood hounds, 351. Colored jurors, 351. 
Adoption of amendments, 351. First colored vote cast in Cairo, 352. 



CONTENTS AND INDEX. IX 

Pase. 

CHAPTER XLVIII-About Women 353-300 

Mrs. Juliet C. Raiim, 353. Mrs. Catherine Wilson, 354. Mrs. Mary 
Todd Lincoln, 355. Mrs. Mary S. Logran, 357. Women Lawyers, 
358. Women School Offleers, 359. Women Notaries Public, 359. 
How long will it be before they can vote? 360. 

CHAPTER XLIX-Illinois National Guard 360-361 

CHAPTER L-Green B. Raum 362-371 

CHAPTER Ll-Whisky Frauds 371-373 

CHAPTER LII— Bureau of Labor Statistics 374-375 

CHAPTER LIII— Governors of Illinois 375-37& 

CHAPTER LIV— Illinois in Congress 377-391 

Delegates in Congress from 1811-1818, 377. Representatives from 
1818-1885, 377. Senators from 1818-1889, 387. 

CHAPTER LV— State Funds 3D1-397 

Disbursement of State Funds December 1, 1839, to October 1, 1882, 
397. Legislative— Executive— Judicial— Debt for Public Works— 
Educational— Internal improvement Debt— Miscellaneou.s— Total 
—State Debt— Its Payment, 397. 

CHAPTER LVI— Speech of Robert G. Ingersoll. Nominating Blaine. . . 398-400 

CHAPTER LVII— Illinois and the National Government 400-403 

Positions held in the National Government— Commissioner of the 
Land Office- Clerk of the Lower House of Congress— Presidency 
—Marshal of the District of Columbia— Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court— Secretary of the Interior— Assistant Attorney- 
General— Secretary of War— Commander of the Armies— Lieuten- 
ant-General and General— Secretary of State— Assistant Post- 
master-General— Solicitor of the Treasury— Commissioner of In- 
ternal Revenue— Assistant Secretary of the Treasury- Assistant 
Secretary of the Interior— Vice-Presidency— Public Printer. 

CHAPTER LVIII— Speech of Roscoe Conkling, Nominating Grant... 403 407 

CHAPTER LIX-Our State Banks 407 

What the People lost when they went into liquidation, 408. 
CHAPTER LX— Patrons of Husbandry 408-409 

CHAPTER LXI— Temperance Legislation 409-412 

A Petitition Signed by Eighty Thousand Voters and One Hundred 
Thousand Women, 411. Miss Frances Willard Addresses the Illi- 
nois General Assembly. 411. Passage of the High License Bill 412. 

CHAPTER LXII— Incidents and Anecdotes 413-42ft 

Owen Lovejoy Egged in Bloomington, 413. "Will the Sheriff call 
Mr. Pffrimmer, "414. Wentworth and Browning, 414. "Till he was 
Conscripted. " 415. U. F. Linder and the "Little Doctor, "415. "Celes- 
tial Meridian of 36° 3(»', " 417. "Not according to Jefferson, but 
the Gentleman from Jefferson, "417. "I thought I would let you 
make a Water-Dog of him," 418. How Col. Reuben Loomis was 



CONTENTS AND INDEX. 

Killed, 419. How Pinkney H. Walker became a Justice of the Su- 
preme Court. 420. An exciting political episode, 421. "He knew 
him before the Flood," 421. "There is no use of this Investiga- 
tion, " 422. "I was born a barefooted boy. " 422. "Tom Needles and 
John Bunn Know to D— n Much to Play Governor, " 423. "Wonder- 
ful Moral Reformation, " 424. "Tell Old Hilliard to Come and See 
Me, Devihsh Quick." 424. "If they will let me out with as good 
character as I had, 425. 



APPENDIX 



Page. 

CHAPTER I-IUinois 427-433 

Eormatiou into a Territory, 427. Pormatioa of Legislative Dis- 
tricts, 429. First Territorial Legislature, 429. Secoad Territorial 
Legislature, 430. Third Territorial Legislature, 431. Monument 
to Menard, 432. Daniel P. Cook, 433. 

CHAPTER II— Admission as a State, 433-435 

Constitutional Convention, 433. Peculiarities of the Constitution, 
434. Negroes and Mulattoes, 434. Boundaries of the State, 434. 

CHAPTER Ill-State Government— 1818-22 435-437 

First General Assembly— 1818-20, 435. First Election of United 
States Senators, 437. 

CHAPTER IV— Capitals 437-439 

Kaskaskia— Vandalia— Springfield- Population of Kaskaskia in 
1820 — Population now— An Island of the Mississippi- Towns 
which wanted the Capital— When removed from Vandalia. 

CHAPTER V— Second General Assembly— 1820-22 439-440 

Gov. Bond's Administration, 439. Monument to Gov. Bond, 440. 

CHAPTER VI— Our First Banking 440-443 

Bank at Shawneetown with capital of $300,000, 440. Bank with 
$4,000,000 capital, 440. Fiflal result of the system, 441. First Can- 
vass before the people for Governor, 443. Total Vote of the State, 
6,309, 443. Election of Gov. Coles by a plurality of 50, 443. 

CHAPTER VII— State Government— 1822-26 444 

Slavery Agitation, 444. 

CHAPTER VIII-Early Salt Making 445 

Gov. Coles on Titles, 417. Gen. Lafayette's visit to Illinois, 447. 
Shawneetown in 1817, 448. 

CHAPTER IX-Tenth General Assembly— 1824-26 449-450 

Retirement of Gov. Coles, 450. 

CHAPTER X— Slavery in Illinois 450-455 

"When and how Slaves were held in Illinois. 450. Gallatin County 
made an Exception in the Constitution. 451. An attempt in 1822 to 
make Illinois a Slave State, 452. Vote of the House of Represent- 
atives on the Question, 453. A hot Campaign before the People, 
454. Vote of the State against Slavery, 455. 



XU CONTENTS AND INDEX. 

Page. 

CHAPTER XI— State Government— 1826-30 455-450 

William S. Hamilton. 456. 

CHAPTER XII— Cairo in 1818, 456. Peoria in 1824. 458. 

CHAPTER XIII— Sixth General Assembly— 1828-30 459-460 

Governor Edwards, 459. 

CHAPTER XIV— Alton as a Rival to St. Louis. 460. Massacre at Mas- 
sac, 461. One of the Landmarlis of 1837,462. 

CHAPTER XV— State Government— 1830-34 463 

CHAPTER XVI-Progress in Schools 463-470 

Novel School Laws. 465. School Tax paid in Produce. 465. Alton 
the first to establish a Free School. 464, Normal Schools, 467. 
Colleges, 468. State Teachers' Association, 468. Prominent Edu- 
cators, 469. Superintendents of Public Instruction, 469. School 
Journals, 469. 

CHAPTER XVII-Eighth General Assembly- 1832-34 470-471 

Governor Reynolds, 470. Mormon War, 471. Killing of Josepli 
and Hiram Smith, 472. Destruction of the Mormon Temple, 472. 
Mormons decide to seek a home beyond the Rocky Mountains, 
472. Expulsion of the Mormons from the State, 472. State Gov- 
ernment— 1834-38, 472. Adam Snyder, 473. Thomas Mather, 473. 
Indian Wars, 473. Capture and Death of Red Bird. 473. Capture 
and Death of Black Hawk, 474. Starved Rock, 475. Tenth Gen- 
eral Assembly, 1836-38, 475. Col. Edward D. Baker. 476. Gov. 
Duncan, 476. First and only Duel in Illinois, 477. State Govern- 
ment -1838-42, 478. 

CHAPTER XVIII 479 

How a Challenge was Avoided, 479. Twelfth General Assembly— 
1840-42,480. Chicago, 481. First Newspaper in Chicago, 481. Chi- 
cago a part of Pike county, 481. First Railroad, 482. First Mayor, 
482. State Government— 1842-46, 483. 

CHAPTER XIX-MurderofRev. ElijahP. Lovejoy 483-493 

Establishment of his Press in St. Louis, 484. Its Removal to Al- 
ton, 484. Its Destruction by a Mob, 484. Re-establishment of the 
Paper, 484. An Attempt to Tar and Feather Lovejoy, 485. Meet- 
ing ot the Citizens of Alton to Compel him to Abandon the Publi- 
cation of his Paper, 485. A Brave Speech in Self-Defense, 486. 
Murder of Lovejoy and Destruction of his Fourth and Last Press, 
490. His Funeral, 492. Monument to his Memory, 493. 

CHAPTER XX-Fourteenth General Assembly— 1844-46 494-500 

McDougall, 404. Administration of Gov. Ford, 494. Mexican War, 
495. State Government— 1846-49, 496. Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 1847, 496. Peculiar Features of the Constitution, 408. Salaries 
of State officers, 498. Article Relating to Negroes and Mulattoes, 
498. State Government— 1849-53, 499. 



CONTENTS AND INDEX. Xlll 

Page. 

GHA.PTER XXr— Internal Improvemout System of 1837 500-505 

Appointment of Fund Commissioners, 501. Illinois and Michigan 
Canal, 500. Board of Public Works, 501. System of Railroads, 
502. Mail Routes, 502. Improvement of the Rivers, 502. $10,007,000 
Appropriated by the General Assembly for Public Improvements, 
502. Who Voted for the Bill, 502. Who Voted against the Bill, 502, 
Bankruptcy, 503. General Assembly 1850-52, 504. Gov. French, 
504. 

CHAPTER XXII-Our First Railroads '. 505-512 

Gov. Duncan's Opposition to Railroads, 505. Senator Gatewood's 
Opposition, 507. Report of Committee favor Canals in Preference 
to Railroads, 507. Number of Miles of Railway, 511. Number. of 
Miles of Canal, 511. Amount of Taxes Paid by Illinois Central 
Railway, 511. Amount Paid by other Railways in 1883, 511. Gov. 
Duncan's Problem Solved, 511. State Government 1853-57, 511. 
Passage of the Black Laws, 512. 

CHAPTER XXIII-Printing 512-518 

First Newspapers in Illinois, 512. First Books Printed, 513. Print- 
ing Presses Then and Now, 514. First Daily Papers, 515. Chicago 
Papers, 514. Papers at the Capital, 516. Weekly Journals, 510. 
Interior Dailies, 516. Eminent Journalists, 518. 

CHAPTER XXI V-Nineteenth General Assembly 1854-56 510 

Election of Lyman Trumbull to the United States Senate, 519. 
Why Lincoln was not Elected, 520. Railroads, 520, Illinois had 
but one Railroad in 1841, 52n. Now she has 56, 520. More miles of 
Railway than any State in the Union, 522. Manufacturing and 
Mining, 522. Physical Resource?, 523. Primitive Mode of Farm- 
ing, 5J3. Public Charities, 524. Judiciary, 525. 

STEEL PORTRAITS: 1-Lincoln. 
2— Douglas. 
3— Yates. 
4— Grant. 
5— Palmer. 
6— Logan. 
7— Oglesby. 
8— Crowning. 
9— Edwards. 

10— Coles.- From Washburne's Sketch of Colep, by 
Jansen, McClurg & Co., Chicago. 



CHAPTER I. 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 



Formation of Parties— First Election of Washington without Political Sig- 
nificance—Election of John Adams as a Federalist— Jefferson Elected as a 
Kepublican— Madison as a Republican— Monroe as a Republican— John 
Quiucy Adams as a Coalitionist— Jackson as a Democrat— Van Buren as 
a Democrat— Harrison as a Whig— Polk as a Democrat— Taylor as a 
Whig— Pierce as a Democrat— Buchanan as a Democrat— Only Presi- 
dents Elected by the House of Representatives— National Conventions- 
Federal Party— Democratic— National Republican— Whig— Abolition- 
Free Soil— Know-Nothing— Native American— Republican— Slavery Ques- 
tion— Election of Bissell— Dred Scott Decision— Repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise— Attempt to make Kansas a Slave State. 



In order to intelligently lay the foundation of our history, 
Politics and Politicians of Illinois, which begins in 1856 
with the campaign in which the Eepublican party was or- 
ganized, a brief retrospect reference is made to National 
politics. 

Historians are not agreed as to the exact time of the 
formation of political parties in the United States, but it is 
accepted that Washington, the first President, was elected 
in 1789 without political significance, and that at his second 
election, in 1792, he was denominated a Federalist. In 
1796, John Adams, his successor, was elected as a Federal- 
ist. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson was elected as a Eepubli- 
can. There was a tie in the Electoral College between him 
and Aaron Burr, and the election was carried to the House 
of Eepresentatives. Jefferson was elected President and 
Burr Vice-President. In 1804, Jefferson succeeded himself 
as a Eepublican. In 1808, James Madison was elected as a 
Eepublican. In 1812, he succeeded himself as a Eepublican. 



2 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

In 1816, James Monroe was elected as a Kepublican. 
He succeeded himself in 1820 as a Bepublican. In 1824, 
John Quincy Adams was elected as a Coalitionist. There 
were four candidates, Andrew Jackson, Wm. H. Crawford, 
Henry Clay, and Adams. Jackson received a plurality of 
the popular vote, but there was no election by the Electoral 
College, and the issue was carried to the House of Kepre- 
sentatives, where Adams was elected by a coalition. In 1828, 
Andrew Jackson was elected as a Democrat, and succeeded 
himself as such in 1832. In 1836, Martin Van Buren was 
elected as a Democrat; and as there was no choice in the 
Electoral College for Vice-President, the Senate of the United 
States elected K. M. Johnson to that office. In 1840 
William Henry Harrison was elected as a Whig. In 
1844, James K. Polk was elected as a Democrat. In 1848, 
Zachary Taylor was elected as a Whig. In 1852, Franklin 
Pierce was elected as a Democrat, and in 1856, James 
Buchanan was elected as a Democrat. We have thus 
traced the Presidential elections to 1856. Jefferson and 
Adams were the only Presidents ever elected by the House 
of Eepresentatives. 

The National convention system was not introduced until 
as late as 1831. Prior to that time candidates for President 
and Vice-President were nominated by congressional and 
legislative caucuses. Jackson and Calhoun were nominated 
in that manner in 1832 for President and Vice-President, but 
there was much opposition to the nomination of Calhoun, 
and a National convention was held at Baltimore, in May, 
to nominate a candidate for that office. Martin Van Buren 
was nominated, and elected with Jackson. In May, 1835, 
the Democrats assembled in National convention at Balti- 
more, and nominated Martin Van Buren for President. In 
the same year, December 4, the Whigs held their first 
National convention, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, nominat- 
ing William Henry Harrison for President, and Francis 



POLITICS A.ND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. O 

Granger for Vice-President. From this time the respective 
parties have selected their candidates for President and 
Vice-President through National conventions. 

From the time the Government was formed there had 
been, to 1856, inclusive, nine distinct political parties, 
which were National in character, and appeared in the 
order in which we give them here. In 1789, the Federal 
party was organized. It favored the Federal AlliaMce or 
confederation, and claimed to be the preserver of the 
Union. Those who opposed that party in the time of 
Washington were known as Anti-Federalists, but afterward 
took the name of Republicans. In 1807, the Democratic 
party was organized, and although the principles advo- 
cated by this party changed from time to time, they have 
studiously held on to the original name. In 1831, the Na- 
tional Republican party was organized, to oppose the 
Democratic party; and in 1634, the Whig party was or- 
ganized in New York, as the continuation of the National 
Republican party. In 1840, the Abolition party appeared. 
Its distinctive feature was the advocacy of the abolition 
of slavery in the States which then held to that institu- 
tion. In 1848, the Free Soil party was organized. It op- 
posed the introduction of slavery into the Territories. The 
Know-Nothing party was formed in 1852 as a secret or- 
ganization. It announced the doctrine that "Americans 
should rule America," and for a time was successful in 
some of the States. In 1856, it was known as the Native 
American party. In that year the present Republican 
party was organized, with the avowed purpose of putting 
an end to the further extension of slavery. 

The Abolition party made an incipient effort, in 1840, to 
run a candidate for President in the person of James G. 
Birney, of Michigan, nominating him at a convention held 
at Warsaw, New York, as early as November 13, 1839. 
He received but 7,059 votes in aU the States, and 149 of 



4 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

these were cast in Illinois. In 18^14, the Abolitionists again 
presented Birney, nominating him at Buffalo, New York, 
August 30, 1843. This time he received 62,300 votes. Of 
these Illinois cast 3,570. 

The next anti-slavery candidate was Martin Van Buren, 
who was nominated by a Free Soil convention held at 
Buffalo, on the 9th of August, 1848. It was composed 
chiefly of Free Soil Democrats. His aggregate vote was 
291,263, and 15,774 of this number were cast in Illinois. 
In August, 1852, the Free Soil Democrats assembled at 
Pittsburgh, and nominated John P. Hale, of New Hamp- 
shire, as their candidate for President. His vote was not 
so large as Van Buren's, it being only 156,149. Illinois 
gave him 9,966. But notwithstanding his vote was much 
less than Van Buren's, it furnished conclusive evidence 
that the anti-slavery sentiment had taken a strong hold 
upon the minds of the people South as well as North, for 
Free Soil electoral tickets were formed in the slave States 
of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina. 

(See Greeley & Cleveland's Political Text Book, 1860, 
and Lanman's Biographical Annals of the Civil Govern- 
ment of the United States, 1876.) 

In the midst of these fruitless attempts to elect an anti- 
slavery man to the Presidency, there was a constant 
augmentation of the anti-slavery sentiment in all the free 
States and Territories ; and the nomination of Martin Van 
Buren was the first outward evidence that the thoughtful, 
practical men of the country were taking hold of the 
question. It had evidently become apparent to the minds 
of the anti-slavery factions of the Democratic and "Whig 
parties North and South— the men who were not willing 
to follow their party leaders blindly into error — that the 
"Whig party would ultimately be swallowed up by the 
Democratic party, which would, in their judgment, result 
disastrously to the country. But the question was, how 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 5 

should they arrest the great storm so visible to them in 
the political sky. Their numbers were comparatively few. 
They were fearless of all consequences. To their minds 
a new party seemed necessary to save the country from 
an intestine conflict. Martin Van Buren, of whom we have 
spoken, who had succeeded Andrew Jackson as President 
of the United States in 1836, and had been the Demo- 
cratic candidate for President in 1840, against William 
Henry Harrison, was nominated by them for President as 
the candidate of the Free Soil party. The result of his 
nomination was the defeat of Louis Cass, the regular 
Democratic candidate, and the election of Zachary Taylor. 
This election seemed only to put off the evil day, for the 
Democratic party succeeded four years after in electing 
Franklin Pierce over Winfield Scott, the candidate of the 
Whig party. 

The Free Soil party having announced no principle 
except that of hostility to the further spread of slavery, 
did not commend itself to the favor of the people North, 
South, East and West who did not desire to enlist under 
the Democratic banner, and many of them united with 
the Native American party, which came forward in 1856, 
as the successor of the Whig and Know-Nothing parties, 
with Millard Fillmore, the Vice-President under Taylor 
and President after his death, as its candidate for Presi- 
dent. In the meantime the Free Soil party had abandoned 
its original name and came forward with a new name — 
the Republican party — a new platform of principles and 
new accessions, chiefly from the Democratic party, in all 
the Eastern and Northwestern States, and John C. Fre- 
mont was chosen as its candidate for President, under the 
bold and broad declaration that there should be no fur- 
ther extension of slavery. The Democrats nominated 
James Bucbanan. The triangular race resulted in the 
election of Mr. Buchanan, whose aggregate vote was 



b POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

1,838,169; Fremont, 1,341,264; Fillmore, 874,534. Mr. 
Buchanan's plurality in Illinois was 9,159 ; Fremont's vote 
in Illinois was 9(3,189, and Fillmore's b7,444. But although 
Illinois cast her electoral vote for Buchanan, Wm. A. 
Eichardson, the Democratic candidate for Governor, was 
beaten bj' Wm. H. Bissell, the Republican candidate, by 
a majority of 4,6J7. Mr. Bissell was an able and accom- 
plished gentleman, who had won popular fame as a soldier 
in the war with Mexico, and had represented the Belleville 
district in the Thirty-first, Thirty-second and Thirty-third 
Congresses. 

With Mr. Bissell, there were elected John Wood, Lieu- 
tenant Governor ; 0. M. Hatch, Secretary of State ; Jesse 
K. Dubois, Auditor of Public Accounts ; James Miller, 
Treasurer, and Wm. H. Powell, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. This was the first time in the history of 
Illinois that any person other than a Democrat had been 
chosen to fill a State office. Several times prior to this 
the Clay men or Whigs had taken up a Jackson man or 
Democrat and voted for him for Governor, against the 
person thought to be the favorite candidate of the lead- 
ing men of the dominant party, notably among whom was 
John Keynolds, in 1830, who was elected over Wm. Kin- 
ney, then Lieutenant Governor. The election of Joseph 
Duncan in 1834 was another instance — Kinney being again 
a candidate. (See Ford's History.) Party lines between 
the Democrats and Whigs were not radically drawn in 
this State until about 1836, but the Whig party was always 
in a hopeless minority. The nearest the Wing party ever 
came to carrying the State was in the campaign between 
Harrison and Van Euren. Harrison received 45,537 votes 
and Van Buren 47,476. Of the formation of the Eepublican 
party we shall speak more at length in the succeeding 
chapter. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 7 

Under Mr. Buchanan's administration the slave power 
became more and more aggressive. In fact, the slave 
power had dictated and dominated the legislation from 
the first Congress to the administration of Buchanan, in 
Whig as well as in Democratic administrations; and in 
1852, when the Whig and Democratic parties adopted, in 
National conventions, platforms which were identical on 
the slavery question, then it was that that question seemed 
to absorb all others in the National legislature. The 
•development of the country, the progress and happiness 
of its people, were lost sight of. Laws repugnant to the 
character and intelligence of the people of the free States 
had been passed from time to time, under the impudent 
threat of Southern senators and representatives that if 
they were not passed the South would dissolve the Union. 
But the most obnoxious and offensive measure was the 
fugitive Slave Law, which compelled the citizens of the 
free States to turn out at the will or command of the 
United States marshals to aid in the arrest or return of 
slaves escaping from their masters into free territory. 

And next to this was the assault upon Charles Sumner, 
a United States senator from the commonwealth of Mas- 
sachusetts. He had been brutally and murderously 
assaulted in open day in the United States Senate by 
Preston L. Brooks, a representative from South Carolina, 
for simply expressing his political opinions in debate, and 
although Brooks was expelled from that body, his con- 
stituents promptly re-elected him, as an indorsement of 
the brutal act. 

Not only was the legislation of the National government 
in the interest of slavery, but the Supreme Court was 
made to bow to the demands of the power behind it. We 
refer to the Dred Scott decision. This was rendered in De- 
cember, 1S56, in a case wherein a colored man, whose name 
was Dred Scott, had been taken, together with his wife and 



8 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

two daughters, by his master, John F. A. Sanford, a resi- 
dent of the State of Missouri, to Rock Island, lUinois, to 
reside. lUinois being a free State, these persons, there- 
fore, became free the moment they were landed on her 
soil with the intention to remain as residents. 

On the return of Sanford with Scott and his family to 
Missouri, Scott sued in the State court for his freedom, 
and believing that few of our readers will be able to call 
to mind the true character of this cause, and that they 
will be interested in knowing the full significance of the 
decision, we print the substance of it, as reported by 
Benjamin C. Howard, the official reporter. The case is 
thus stated by him in the published decisions of that 

court : 

"This case was brought up, by writ of error from the 
Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Mis- 
souri. It was an action vi et armis, instituted in the circuit 
court by Scott against Sanford. Prior to the institution of 
the present suit, an action was brought by Scott for his free- 
dom in the Circuit Court of St. Louis county (State court), 
where there was a verdict and judgment in his favor. 
On a writ of error to the Supreme Court of the State, the 
judgment below was reversed, and the case remanded to 
the Circuit Court, where it was continued to await the 
decision of the case now in question. The declaration of 
Scott contained three counts : one that Sanford had 
assaulted the plaintiff ; one that he had assaulted Harriet 
Scott, his wife, and one that he had assaulted Ehza Scott 
and Lizzie, his children." 

The close of the syllabus of the case, as reported in 
19th Howard, and which gives the substance of the longest 
and most interesting opinion ever rendered by the Supreme 
Court of the United States, is as follows : 

"The plaintiff himself acquired no title to freedom by 
being taken by his owner to Eock Island in Illinois, and 
brought back to Missouri. This court has heretofore 
decided that the status or condition of a person of African 
descent depended on the laws of the State in which he 
resided. It has been settled by the decisions by the highest 
court in Missouri, that by the laws of that State a slave 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 9 

does not become entitled to his freedom where the owner 
takes him to reside in a State where slavery is not per- 
mitted, and afterwards brings him back to Missouri. 

"Conclusion: It follows that it is apparent upon the 
record that the c jurt below erred in its judgment in the 
plea in abatement, and also erred in giving judgment for 
the defendant when the exception shows that the plain- 
tiff was not a citizen of the United States. And as the 
Circuit Court had no jurisdiction either in the case stated 
in the plea in abatement, or in the case stated in the 
exception, its judgment in favor of the defendant is 
erroneous and must be reversed." 

At that time the Supreme Court of the United States 
was composed of Chief Justice Taney, Justices Nelson, 
Grier, Danniel, Campbell, Catron, Wayne, McLean, and 
Curtis. Chief Justice Taney delivered the opinion, and 
Justices McLean and Curtis were the only members of 
the court who dissented. 

The repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which 
had restricted slavery within the territory south of par- 
allel 36" 30', and which opened up all the Territories to 
the spread of slavery, the brutal attempt to stifle free 
speech in the Senate of the United States, the extraor- 
dinary decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott 
case, and the effort of President Buchanan to force Kan- 
sas into the Union with a constitution which recognized 
slavery, were so palpably wrong in themselves, that the 
great body of the people in the North — Free Soilers, Na- 
tive Americans, Whigs and Democrats — were one in their 
denunciation of the aggressive steps of the slave power, 
and they stood ready with their lives, their fortunes and 
their sacred honor, to do that which would preserve the 
Government and the Union as they had been handed 
down to them by Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and all 
the patriot- fathers. 

In that long and exciting debate in Congress over the 
legislation relating to the admission of Kansas into the 
Union, Stephen A. Douglas was the only Democratic 



10 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Senator, if we except George E. Pagh, of Ohio, who had 
the moral courage to oppose Buchanan's policy, and to 
Douglas' good name and great fame be it said he opposed it 
with manly courage, and with all the ability of his mas- 
ter mind, and because of this he was ostracised by the 
followers of the Administration, and its immense patron- 
age was freely used in Illinois with the hope of destroying 
his power in his own State. 

Such was the condition of National politics when we 
commence our history of the politics and politicians of 
Illinois, since which time the politics of Illinois have been 
the politics of the Nation. 



CHAPTER II. 
SLAVERY AGITATION. 



Why a New Party was Necessary— Missouri Compromise of 1820— Compro- 
mise Measures of 1850— Repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 — 
Douglas Denied the Right of Free Speech in Chicago— Organization of 
the Republican Party— Three Branchesofthe Government Pro-Slavery— 
Growth of the Republican Party— Caucus at Williamsville— First Repub- 
lican Convention at Cairo— First Republican Caucus at Metropolis, 



Why a New Party was Necessary. 

The Eepublican party, which has had almost complete 
control of the governments of the State and Nation since 
1861, was permanently organized in this State at Bloom- 
ington. May 29, 1856. Prior to that time the Democratic 
party had held, with the exception of a few brief inter- 
vals, the complete control of the government of the Nation 
since the formation of parties ; and while the Whig party 
had maintained an organization in the State from 1836 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 11 

to the dissolution of the party, yet it had never been able 
to dispute, successfully, the right of the Democratic party 
to control the affairs of the State, and in order that the 
reader may better understand the causes which led to the 
formation of the Republican party, brief reference is made 
to the history of the legislation of the National Govern- 
ment upon the slavery question. Slavery had been transmit- 
ted to the United States by the British Government, and 
although most all the early Fathers of the Eepublic were 
opposed to the institution, yet they were unable to eradi- 
cate it from a country whose declaration of independence 
had voiced the doctrine that all men were created equal, 
and slavery was thus left as a cancer upon the body 
politic, and remained the subject of bitter controversy be- 
tween the people of the North and South. For years 
prior to 1820, when what is known as the Missouri Com- 
promise was passed, the question had been assuming an 
important and alarming position in the public mind, and 
ever and anon threatened the dissolution of the Union. 
The States of the North had gotten rid of such negro slaves 
as they had originally possessed, and had enacted laws 
forbidding their citizens from owning or bringing within 
their limits, negroes for purposes of labor. The feeling, 
in these States, that slavery was sinful, had been gradu- 
ally gaining ground, and there were many persons in the 
South who held the same view. Certain religious bodies 
in the country had distinctly expressed their belief that it 
was contrary to the teachings of Christianity to own slaves, 
and memorials had been presented to the Legislatures of 
some of the States, and to Congress, praying for the abo- 
lition of slavery. Though Congress did not hesitate to 
pass an Ordinance in 1787, dedicating the Northwestern 
Territory, of which Illinois was a part, to freedom, yet it 
steadily refused to comply with the demands of the peti- 
tions presented to it regarding the abolition of slavery 



12 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

throughout the Nation. Article six of that Ordinance 

reads thus : 

" There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude 
in the said Territory, otherwise than in the punishment 
of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed : Provided, always, that any person escaping into 
the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed 
in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be 
lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming 
his or her labor or service as aforesaid." 

The existence of slavery within the States was recog- 
nized and protected by the constitution, and Congress held 
that it had no right to interfere with the domestic rela- 
tions of the States. 

Missouri Compromise of 1820. 

In February, 1819, the Territory of Missouri, which was 
formed out of a part of the Louisiana purchase, asked 
permission to form a constitution preparatory to being 
admitted into the Union as a State. When the bill for 
this purpose was presented to the House of Kepresenta- 
tives on the 13th of February, Mr. Tallmadge, of New 
York, proposed to insert a clause providing "that the 
further introduction of slavery, or involuntary servitude, 
be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted; and that all 
children born in said State after the admission thereof 
into the Union, shall be free [at the age of twenty-five 
years." The announcement of this amendment produced 
a great sensation in the House, and throughout the country. 
It was believed by the advocates of slavery that the reso- 
lutions of the House of Eepresentatives of 1790, in reply 
to the first petition presented to it for the abolition of 
slavery, which declared the policy of the Government to 
be non-interference with slavery in the States, had settled 
the question of the powers of the Federal government 
respecting slavery. The bill continued to be the subject 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 13 

of a long and angry debate in the House, and finally- 
passed that body by a small majority as amended by Mr. 
Tallmadge, but it was defeated in the Senate. 

When Congress re-assembled in December, 1819, the 
discussion as to the admission of Missouri was again 
renewed, and again the House passed the bill as amended 
by Mr. Tallmadge, but when it reached the Senate the 
clause prohibiting slavery was stricken out, and an amend- 
ment, offered by Senator Thomas, of Illmois, was substi- 
tuted, which was in these words: "Section 8. And be it 
further enacted, That in all the territory ceded by France 
to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which 
lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north 
latitude, not included within the limits of the State con- 
templated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude 
otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the 
party shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is 
hereby forever prohibited : Provided, always, that any per- 
son escaping into the same, from whom labor or service 
is lawfully claimed in any State or Territory of the United 
States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and con- 
veyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service 
as aforesaid," The title of the bill was amended so as to 
agree with this section when it was sent to the House of 
Kepresentatives for its concurrence. The House refused to 
accept the amendment of the Senate, and a committee of 
conference was appointed by both houses for the purpose 
of agreeing upon a bill acceptable to both sections of the 
country. 

During the sitting of the conference committee, Thomas 
Jefferson, who was then living in retirement at Monticello, 
Virginia, and who was sincerely opposed to slavery, wrote 
a patriotic letter in opposition to the passage of the bill 
as amended by Mr. Thomas; he deprecated the thought 
of establishing a sectional line, and said the mere 



14 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

suggestion of such a line sounded to him like a fire-bell 
at night, and that its consummation might sound the death- 
knell of the Union. 

After weeks of bitter discussion before the committee of 
conference, the amendment offered by the Illinois Senator 
was adopted, and the bill as agreed upon by the com- 
mittee passed the Senate March 2, 1820, by a vote of 27 
ayes to 15 noes, when it was sent to the House for its 
concurrence. The bill passed that body on the same day 
by a vote of 134 ayes to 42 noes. Both the Illinois Sena- 
tors, Edwards and Thomas, and the Eepresentative, Mr. 
Cook, voted for the bill. (See the House and Senate 
Journals.) 

After the passage of the bill, in a letter under date of 
April 13, 1820, addressed to Wm. Short, Mr. Jefferson 
said: 

"I had laid down a law to myself, never to write, talk 
or even think of politics, to know nothing of public affairs, 
and therefore had ceased to read newspapers, yet the 
Missouri question aroused and filled me with alarm. I 
have been among the most sanguine in believing that our 
Union would be of long duration. I now doubt it much. 
My only comfort and confidence is that I shall not live to 
see this ; and I envy not the present generation the glory 
of throwing away the fruits of their fathers' sacrifice of 
life and fortune, and of rendering desperate the experi- 
ment which was to decide ultimately whether man was 
capable of self-government." (See Volume 7 of Jefferson's 
Complete Works.) 

Notwithstanding the compromise was introduced by Mr. 
Thomas, Benton tells us in his Thirty Years in the United 
States Senate, that its adoption was the work of the pro- 
slavery men. 

The constitution under which Missouri applied for admis- 
sion into the Union sanctioned slavery, and contained a 
clause which prohibited the Legislature from interfering 
with the question. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 15 

There was also a clause in it authorizing the Legislature 
to prohibit the emigration of free people of color into the 
State, and this clause was laid hold of in Congress to 
resist the adroission of the State. It was treated as a 
breach of that clause in the Federal constitution which 
guarantees equal privileges in all the States to the citi- 
zens of every State, of which privileges the right of 
emigration was one ; and free people of color being admitted 
to citizenship in some of the States, this prohibition of 
emigration was held to be a violation of that privilege in 
their persons. Here followed an equally angry discussion 
over the peculiar features of this constitution, and it did 
not end until a committee of conference of the two houses 
had met and agreed upon a resolution favoring the admis- 
sion of the State upon the condition that her Legislature 
should first declare that the clause in the constitution 
relative to the colored emigration into the State should 
never be construed to authorize the passage of any act 
by which any citizen of any of the States of the Union 
should be excluded from the enjoyment of any privilege 
to which he may be entitled under the Constitution of the 
United States, and the President of the United States 
being furnished with a copy of said act, should, by pro- 
clamation, declare the State to be admitted. This reso- 
lution was passed in the House by a vote of 86 to 82, and 
in the Senate by a vote of 28 to 14. 

The Legislature of Missouri complied with the require- 
ments of this resolution, and on the 10th of August, 1821, 
President Monroe issued a proclamation declaring the 
admission of Missouri into the Union, in complete accord- 
ance with law. 

In his last message to Congress, President Polk had 
recommended the extension of the line 36° 30' north 
latitude to the Pacific, thus leaving it to the people 



16 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

south of that line whether they would have slavery or not. 
This proposition was acceptable to the people of the 
South, but it did not meet with favor in the North. 

Compromise Measures of 1850. 

In 1849, when California applied to be admitted into 
the Union, with a constitution which prohibited slavery, 
the sectional controversy was again renewed, with alarm- 
ing fury, and grave fears were entertained for the safety 
of the Union. Zachary Taylor was President, and while 
recognizing, in his first message, the gravity of the situ- 
ation, and the danger which threatened the country from 
the sectional controversy, he expressed his determination 
to faithfully discharge his duties to the whole country, 
and recommended the admission of California, under the 
constitution her people had chosen ; and advised that Utah 
and New Mexico be organized as Territories, with liberty 
to decide the question of slavery for themselves, when they 
were ready to enter the Union as States. 

Eegarding the preservation of the Union, President 
Taylor said : 

"But attachment to the union of the States should be 
habitually fostered in every American heart. For more 
than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires 
have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots 
who formed it have long since descended to the grave ; 
yet still it remains the proudest monument to their mem- 
ory, and the object of affection and admiration with every 
one worthy to bear the American name. In my judgment 
its dissolution would be the greatest of calamities, and to 
avert that should be the study of every American. Upon 
its preservation must depend our own happiness and that 
of countless generations to come. Whatever dangers may 
threaten it, I shall stand by it, and maintain it in its 
integrity, to the full extent of the obligations imposed and 
the power conferred upon me by the Constitution." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 17 

On the question of the admission of California, he was 
equally frank : 

"No civil government having been provided by Congress 
for California, the people of that Territory, impelled by 
the necessities of their political condition, recently met in 
convention, for the purpose of forming a constitution and 
State government, which the latest advices give me reason 
to suppose has been accomplished ; and it is believed they 
will shortly apply for the admission of California into the 
Union as a sovereign State. Should such be the case, 
and should their constitution be conformable to the requi- 
sitions of the Constitution of the United States, I recom- 
mend their application to the favorable consideration of 
Congress." 

The issue, as then made up between the North and the 
South, was this: The South opposed the admission of Cal- 
ifornia as a free State, and demanded the better execution 
of the fugitive slave law; the North was opposed to the 
admission of any more slave States ; demanded the abo- 
lition of the slave trade in the District of Cjlutnbia, 
and was unwilling for the execution of the fugitive 
slave law within the Northern States. These questions 
occupied the attention of Congress almost exclusively, and 
the excitement permeated the eatire Union, and repeated 
threats came from Southern Senators and Representa- 
tives that if the demands of the South were not ac- 
ceded to, the Southern States would withdraw from 
the Union; and the situation was indeed alarming, 
when, on the 29th of January, 1850, Henry Clay intro- 
duced ten resolutions in the Senate, as a compromise, 
which provided for the admission of California as a free 
State ; the organization of the Territories of Utah and 
New Mexico, without reference to slavery ; the abolition 
of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and the 
enactment by Congress of a more stringent and effective 
law for the rendition of fugitive slaves. 

The resolution of Mr. Clay, which related to a compro- 
mise on the slavery question, was as follows: 

_9, 



18 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

''Resolved, That as slavery does not exist by law, and 
is not likely to be introduced into any of the territory ac- 
quired by the United States from the Eepublic of Mexico, 
it is inexpedient for Congress to provide by law either 
for its introduction into or exclusion from any part of the 
said territory; and that appropriate Territorial govern- 
ments ought to be established by Congress in all of the 
said territory, not assigned as the boundaries of the pro- 
posed State of California, without the adoption of any 
restriction or condition on the subject of slavery." 

Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, spoke thus in opposi- 
tion to the passage of the resolution: 

"But, sir, we are called on to receive this as a meas- 
ure of compromise ! Is a measure in which we of the 
minority are to receive nothing, a measure of compro- 
mise? I look upon it as but a modest mode of taking 
that, the claim to which has been more boldly asserted 
by others ; and that I may be understood upon this ques- 
tion, and that my position may go forth to the country 
in the same columns that convey the sentiments of the 
Senator from Kentucky, I here assert that never will I 
take less than the Missouri Compromise line, extended to- 
the Pacific ocean, with the specific recognition of the 
right to hold slaves in the territory below that line; and 
that, before such Territories are admitted into the Union 
as States, slaves may be taken there from any of the 
United States, at the option of their owners." 

Mr. Clay, with no less candor or courage, replied ta 
Mr. Davis in these words : 

"I am extremely sorry to hear the Senator from Mis- 
sissippi say that he requires, first, the extension of the 
Missouri Compromise line to the Paciiic, and also that he 
is not satisfied with that, but requires, if I understood 
him correctly, a positive provision for the admission of 
slavery south of that line. And, now, sir, coming from a 
slave State, as I do, I owe it to myself, I owe it to trutb. 
I owe it to the subject, to say that no earthly power could 
induce me to vote for a specific measure for the intro- 
duction of slavery where it had not before existed, either 
South or North of that line. Coming, as I do, from a 
slave State, it is my solemn, deliberate and well-matured 
determination that no power, no earthly power, shall 
compel me to vote for the positive introduction of slavery 
either south or north of that line. Sir, while you 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 19 

reproach, and justly, too, our British ancestors for the in- 
troduction of this institution upon the continent of 
America, I am, for one, unwilhng that the posterity of 
the present inhabitants of Cahfornia and of New Mexico 
shall reproach us for doing just what we reproach Great 
Britain for doing to us. If the citizens of those Territo- 
ries choose to establish slavery, and if they come here 
with constitutions establishing slavery, I am for admitting 
them with such provisions in their constitutioas ; but then 
it will be their own work, and not ours, and their pos- 
terity will have to reproach them, and not us, for form- 
ing constitutions allowing the institution of slavery to ex- 
ist among them. These are my views, sir, and I choose 
to express them ; and I care not how extensively or uni- 
versally they are known." 

Mr. Calhoun was an invalid at the time the bill was 
presented for the admission of California, and he brought 
into the Senate a written speech of great length and care- 
fully prepared, which he was too weak to deliver, and upon 
his request it was allowed to be read by his friend, Senator 
Mason, from Virginia. We give place to the following 
extract, as showing the views of the great Senator upon 
the slavery question, as it presented itself to his mind: 

"I have. Senators, believed from the first that the agita- 
tion of the subject of slavery would, if not prevented by 
some timely and effective measure, end in disunion. Enter- 
taining this opinion, I have, on all proper occasions, 
endeavored to call the attention of each of the two great 
parties which divide the country, to adopt some measure 
to prevent so great a disaster, but without success. The 
agitation has been permitted to proceed, with almost no 
attempt to resist it, until it has reached a period when it 
can no longer be disguised or denied that the Union is in 
danger. You have thus had forced upon you the greatest 
and the gravest question that can ever come under your 
consideration. How can the Union be preserved? . . . 
It is time, Senators, that there should be an open and 
manly avowal on all sides, as to what is intended to be 
done. If the question is not now settled, it is uncertain 
whether it ever can hereafter be ; and we, as the repre- 
sentatives of the States of this Union, regarded as govern- 
ments, should come to a distinct understanding as to our 
respective views, in order to ascertain whether the great 



20 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

questions at issue can be settled or not. If you, ^ho repre- 
sent the stronger portion, cannot agree to settle them on 
the broad principle of justice and duty, say so; and let 
the States we both represent agree to separate and part 
in peace. If you are unwilling that we should p irt in 
peace, tell us so, and we shall know what to do, when you 
reduce the question to submission or resistance. If you 
remain silent, you will compel us to infer by your acts 
what you intend. In that case, California will become the 
test question. If you admit her under all the ditiiculties 
that oppose her admission, you compel us to infer that 
you intend to exclude us from the whole of the acquired 
Territories, with the intention of destroying irretrievably the 
equilibrium between the two sections. We would be blind 
not to perceive, in that case, that your real objects are 
power and aggrandizement, and infatuated not to act 
accordingly." 

Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, was an earnest advocate 
of the compromise measure, and made a speech in support 
of it, which required three days for its delivery, and which 
produced a profound sensation throughout the country, 
and exercised a powerful influence in securing the passage 
of the bill. 

During the pendency of the discussion of this bill. Presi- 
dent Taylor died, and Vice-President Fillmore became 
President, which, if possible, added new alarm to the 
situation. 

Calhoun died before the bill admitting California came 
to a vote. It passed the Senate by a vote of 34 ayes to 
18 noes. Ten of the Senators who voted against it pre- 
pared an elaborate protest against the passage of the bill, 
and asked that it be spread of record upon the journal, 
the pith of which was in these words : 

"But, lastly, we dissent from this bill, and solemnly 
protest against its passage, bec.m-^e, in sanctioning mnas- 
ures so contrary to former precedent, to obvious p )licy, 
to the spirit and intent of the Constitution of the Unifcd 
States, for the purpose of excluding the slave-holding 
States from the Terrirory thus to be erected into a State, 
this government in effect declares, that the exclusion of 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 21 

slavery from the territory of the United States is an object 
so high and important as to justify a disregard not only 
of all the principles of sound policy, but also of the Con- 
stitution itself. Against this conclusion we must now and 
forever protest, as it is destructive of the safety and liber- 
ties of those whose rights have been committed to our care, 
fatal to the peace and equality of the States which we 
represent, and must lead, if persisted in, to the dissolution 
of that confederacy, in which the slave-holding States 
have never sought more than equality, and in which they 
will not be content to remain with less," 

The Senate declined to receive the protest, and the bill 
was sent to the House, where it was promptly passed, 
and receiving the signature of President Fillmore, Cali- 
fornia was admitted into the Union. 

All this clamor about a dissolution of the Union grew 
out of the fact that the people of California had framed a 
constitution which excluded from her territory the barbar- 
ism of African slavery. This was the height and depth, 
the length and breadth of her offending. 

The other features of Mr. Clay's resolutions of compro- 
mise continued to be the subject of debate in both branches 
of Congress, and, in the latter part of September, were 
formulated into bills which passed both houses, and re- 
ceiving the approval of the President, became the law of 
the land. (See Benton's Thirty Years iu the United States 
Senate.) 

Eepeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. 

This restored quiet to the country for a short time, and 
a short time only; for in December, 1852, when Mr. Hall, 
of Missouri, introduced into the House of Kepresentatives 
a bill to organize the Territory of Platte out of the vast 
territory which was then defined as the Platte Country, 
the sectional fires were again rekindled. The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Territories, which, in Feb- 
ruary, 1853, reported a bill organizing the Territory of 
Nebraska. Notwithstanding the Missouri compromise had 



22 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

restricted that country to free labor, the Southern mem- 
bers hoped to obtain a footing for slavery in at least a 
part of it; and on the 16th of January, 1854, Senator 
Dixon, of Kentucky, gave notice that whenever the 
Nebraska bill should be called up he would move the fol- 
lowing amendment: "That so much of the eighth section 
of an act approved March 6, 1820, entitled 'An act to 
authorize the people of the Missouri Territory to form a 
constitution and State government, and for the admission 
of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the 
original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain Terri- 
tories,' as declares that, 'in all the territory ceded by 
France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, 
which lies north of 36° 30' north latitude, slavery and in- 
voluntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of 
crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall be forever prohibited,' shall not be so construed as 
to apply to the Territory contemplated by this act, or to 
any other Territory of the United States; but that the 
citizens of the several States or Territories shall be at 
liberty to take and hold their slaves within any of the 
Territories or States to be formed therefrom, as if the 
said act, entitled as aforesaid, had never been passed." 

This announcement startled the people of the North, for 
the amendment proposed a repudiation of the Missouri 
Compromise, without seeking its repeal. 

Senator Douglas, Chairman of the Committee on Terri- 
tories, on the 2£d of January, 1354, reported a bill, which 
provided for the organization of the Platte country into 
two Territories. The southern portion, which lay directly 
west of Missouri, stretching to the Eocky Mountains on 
the west, and extending from the thirty-seventh to the 
fortieth parallel of north latitude, was to be organized 
into a distinct Territory, to be called Kansas. The re- 
mainder was to be called Nebraska, having the line of 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 23 

43" 30' for its northern boundary, and Mr. Douglas in- 
corporated in the bill the main features of Mr. Dixon's 
amendment. Section 21 provided, "That, in order to 
avoid misconstruction, it is hereby declared to be the 
true intent and meaning of this act, so far as the ques- 
tion of slavery is concerned, to carry into practical opera- 
tion the following propositions and principles, established 
by the compromise measures of one thousand eight hun- 
dred and fifty, to-wit : 

"First. That all questions pertaining to slavery in the 
Territories, and in the new States to be formed therefrom, 
are to be left to the decision of the people residing there- 
in, through their appropriate representatives. 

"Second. That all cases involving title to slaves, and 
questions of personal freedom, are referred to the adjudi- 
cation of the local tribunals, with the right of appeal to 
the Supreme Court of the United States. 

"Third. That the provisions of the constitution and 
laws of the United States, in respect to fugitives from 
service, are to be carried into faithlul execution in all the 
•'organized Territories' the same as in the States." 

The section of the bill which prescribed the qualifica- 
tions and mode of election of a Delegate from each of the 
Territories, was as follows: "The Constitution, and all 
laws of the United States which are not locally inappli- 
cable, shall have the same force and effect within ihe 
said Territory as elsewhere in the United States, except 
the section of the act preparatory to the admission of 
Missouri into the Union, approved March 6, i820, which 
was superseded by the principles of the legislation of 
1850, commonly called the compromise measures, and is 
declared inoperative." 

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 37 ayes to 14 
noes, and the House by 113 ayes to 100 noes ; and on 
the 3l8t of May, 1854, received the approval of President 
Pierce. (See House and Senate Journals, 1854.) 



24 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

By the passage of this bill all the Territories were 
opened up to the introduction of slavery, and the abroga- 
tion of the Missouri Compromise renewed the sectional 
strife. 

Right op Free Speech Denied to Douglas. 

It would seem strange that to the Senators of the free 
State of Illinois should be left the task of furnishing the 
legislation which was to extend the boundary of slavery, 
or gratify the extravagant demands of the pro-slavery men 
of the South. No special notice seems ever to have been, 
taken in Illinois of the amendment offered by Senator 
Thomas, which formed the basis of the Missouri Compro- 
mise, but Douglas was denounced all through the North 
by the anti-slavery men — Democrats as well as Whigs — 
and was denied the right of free speech on his return to 
his home in Chicago, in August, 1854. He had caused 
the announcement to be made previous to his arrival that 
he would address his fellow-citizens at North Market H^iU, 
in vindication of his course in Congress on the Kansas 
and Nebraska bill, and when the hour had arrived for 
the meeting, thousands upon thousands of persons 
thronged the place with no other motive than to prevent 
him from speaking, and for four long hours did he stand 
facing the mob, and at every lull of the tumult ventur- 
ing to address them, but at last he was forced to leave 
the stand without making himself heard, intelligibly, even 
for a moment. 

During the discussion which preceded the passage of 
this bill, emigrant aid societies had been formed in the 
New England States for the purpose of aiding emigration, 
to Kansas, and in view of the fact that emigration from 
the Southern States was slow, it became apparent to the 
pro-slavery men that if something was not done to coun- 
teract the Northern emigration, Kansas would become a 
free State, and in order to do this hundreds of pro-slavery 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 25 

men from Missouri were sent over to take charge of 
the affairs of the Territory. On their arrival, formal 
notice was given to the free- State men to leave the Terri- 
tory and never return to it, but this they declined to do, 
and the result was that an intestine war prevailed for a 
long time, during which many free- State men were mur- 
dered in cold blood, while others were driven out of the 
Territory with the loss of their property, many of whom 
were from Illinois ; and as a climax to these great wrongs, 
the pro-slavery men framed, through fraud, a constitution 
recognizing slavery, and attempted, by the aid of the Ad- 
ministration of President Buchanan, to force Kansas into 
the Union under that constitution, and here the power 
and greatness of Douglas shone forth in their brightest 
splendor, for to his masterly opposition, more than to all 
other causes, was this outrage upon the character and 
intelligence of the people of Kansas averted, and those 
who had denounced him for the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise now applauded him with a fervor that was as 
boundless as the denunciation had been. 

Organization of the Eepublican Party. 
Here is the state of facts which impelled anti-slavery 
Democrats, anti-slavery Whigs and anti-slavery Americans 
to form a new party, with the hope of arresting the ag- 
gressive steps of the slave power in the National Govern- 
ment ; and it was this that moved the anti-slavery men 
of Illinois to aid in the organization of the new party, 
jand one of the first meetings which took place in the 
State, for this purpose, was held in Jacksonville in 1853, 
at which there were only seven persons, namely, John 0. 
King, Elihu Wolcott, Charles Chappel, James Johnson, 
John Mathers, William Harrison and Anderson Foreman. 
A resolution was adopted pledging themselves to use all 
honorable means to prevent the farther spread of slavery. 
In 1854, similar meetings were held in various counties of 



26 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Central and Northern Illinois, and a State convention met 
at Springfield in October, and nominated John E. McCiun, 
of McLean county, as a candidate for Treasurer, but the 
name of James Miller, of the same county, was after- 
wards substituted, and he made the race as an anti-Kan- 
sas-Nebraska man against John Moore, the Democratic 
candidate, but he failed of election. 

The anti-slavery men were, for a long time, at a loss for 
an acceptable name for a new party. The first suggestion 
of Eepublican party, was made at the convention of Whigs 
held in Bloomington, in 1854, which nominated Jesso 
0. Norton for Congress, by Jesse Lynch, who introduced 
a resolution, which was seconded by John Cusey, which 
proposed to call the new organization the Republican 
party. 

The anti-slavery movement continued to grow in magni- 
tude, and in the spring of 1856 the sentiment was ripe 
for the organization of a new party, and at the suggestion 
of the Jacksonville Journal, then a weekly newspaper, 
edited by Paul Selby, the present editor of the Illinois 
State Journal, a meeting of the anti-Kansas-Nebraska edi- 
tors was held at Decatur, February 22, for the purpose of 
outlining a political policy. There were present at this 
meeting V. Y. Ealston, Quincy Whig ; C. H. Ray, Chicago 
Tribune; 0. P. Wharton, Rock Island Advertiser; T. J. 
Pickett, Peoria Republican; George Schneider, Chicago 
Staats-Zeitung ; Charles Faxon, Princeton Post ; A. N. Ford, 
Lacon Gazette; B. F. Shaw, Dixon Telegraph; W. J. 
Usrey, Decatur Chronicle ; Paul Selby, Jacksonville Jour- 
nal. A resolution was adopted recommending that a State 
convention be called to meet at Bloomington, May 29, and 
a committee consisting of one from each Congressional 
district, and two from the State at large, was selected for 
that purpose. The committee was as follows : W. B. 
Ogden, Chicago ; S. M. Church, Rockford ; G. D. A. Parks, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 27 

Joliet; T. J. Pickett, Peoria; E. A. Dudley, Quincy; Wm. 
H. Herndon, Springfield; R. J. Oglesby, Decatur; Joseph 
Gillespie, Edwardsville ; D. L. Phillips, Jonesboro, and 
Gustavus Kcerner and Ira 0. Wilkinson, from the State 
at large. 

Agreeably to the recommendation of the editorial con- 
vention, a State convention met at Bloomington, May 29. 
Many of the counties were unrepresented, but this did not 
deter the convention from organizing, and John M. Palmer 
was chosen permanent President, with J. A. Davis, of 
Stephenson, William Ross, of Pike, James McKee, of Cook, 
J. H. Bryant, of Bureau, A. C. Harding, of Warren, Rich- 
ard Yates, of Morgan, H, 0. Jones, of Piatt, D. L. Phil- 
lips, of Union, George Smith, of Madison, J. H. Marshall, 
of Coles, J. M. Ruggles, of Mason, G. D. A. Parks, of 
Will, and John Clark, of Schuyler, as Vice-Presidents. 
H. S. Baker, of Madison, C. L. Wilson, of Cook, John 
Tilson, of Adams, W. Bushnell, of LaSalle, and B. J. F. 
Hanna, of Randolph, were elected Secretaries. 

After the usual forms and ceremonies, William H. Bis- 
sell, of St. Clair, was nominated for Governor ; Francis A. 
Hoffman, for Lieut. -Governor, but subsequently the name 
of John Wood, of Adams, was substituted ; 0. M. Hatch, 
of Pike, for Secretary of State ; Jesse K. Dubois, of Law- 
rence, for Auditor; James Miller, of McLean, for Treas- 
urer, and W. H. Powell, of Peoria, for Superintendent of 
Public Instruction. 

J. C. Conkling, of Sangamon, Asahel Gridley, of McLean, 
B. C. Cook, of LaSalle, C. H. Ray and N. B. Judd, of Cook, 
were constituted the State Central Committee. 

Abraham Lincoln, 0. H. Browning, Richard Yates, John 

M. Palmer, Owen Lovejoy, Lyman Trumbull and John 

Wentworth, were the minds which directed the destiny of 

the new party, and its platform was so framed as to have 

i no uncertain sound regarding the further extension of 



28 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

slavery, nor was there any want of devotion to the Union 
of the States. Here are the resohitions which related to the 
National questions : 

"Resolved, That we hold, in accordance with the opin- 
ions and practices of all the great statesmen of all parties 
for the first sixty years of the administration of the gov- 
ernment, that under the constitution Congress possesses 
the power to prohibit slavery in the Territories ; and that 
whilst we will maintain all constitutional rights of the South, 
we also hold tliat justice, humanity, the principles of free- 
dom, as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and 
our National Constitution, and the purity and perpetuity of 
our government, require that that power should be exerted 
to prevent the extension of slavery into Territories hereto- 
fore free. 

"Resolved, That the repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
was unwise, unjust and injurious ; an open and aggravated 
violation of the plighted faith of the States, and that the 
attempt of the present administration to force slavery into 
Kansas against the known wishes of the legal voters of 
that Territory, is an arbitrary and tyrannous violation of 
the rights of the people to govern themselves, and that we 
will strive by all constitutional means to secure to Kansas 
and Nebraska the legal guaranty against slavery of which 
they were deprived at the cost of the violation of the plighted 
faith of the Nation. 

"Resolved, That we are devoted to the Union, and will, 
to the last extremity, defend it against the efforts now 
being made by the disunionists of tbis administration to 
compass its dissolution, and that we will support the Con- 
stitution of the United States in all its provisions, regard- 
ing it as the sacred bond of oar union, and the only safe- 
guard for the preservation of the rights of ourselves and 
our posterity." 

Upon this platform, as the fundamental principles of the 
new party, its standard bearers went forth to battle. It 
was the Presidential year. James Buchanan was the Dem- 
ocratic candidate for President ; Millard Fillmore the Native 
American ; and June 17, the anti-slavery Democrats and 
Whigs of the North met at Philadelphia and organized the 
National Republican party, thus adopting the name which 
had been assumed by the new party in Illinois, and nom- 
inated John C. Fremont for President. Thus stimulated. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 29 

the Kepublican party of Illinois went boldly forward to 
secure the election of their State ticket, and while Buchanan 
carried the State by a plurality of 9,150 over Fremont, 
the Kepublican State ticket was elected throughout. Bis- 
sell's majority over W. A. Eichardson, the Democratic 
candidate for Governor, was 4,697. 

Three Branches of the Government Pro- Slavery. 

It is worthy of remark here, that when the Republican 
party carried the Presidential election in 1860, the pro- 
slavery men held control of three branches of the National 
Government — both houses of Congress and the Supreme 
Court— and added to this was a voluntary avowal by the 
incoming President that their domestic institutions would 
in no wise be disturbed by the chauge made in political 
rulers. Notwithstanding this, they abandoned their places 
in Congress and attempted to establish an independent 
government with slavery as its chief corner stone, and 
when the government at Washington refused to acknowl- 
edge their independence, they made war on the Union, the 
result of which is known to all who read history. 

Party Affiliations. 

More than a quarter of a century has elapsed since the 
formation of the Republican party, and radical changes 
have taken place in the governments of the State and 
Nation, and with the change of issues a corresponding 
change in political affiliation. Many of the great leaders 
who took a prominent part in the formation of the Repub- 
lican party are numbered wiih the silent dead. Some of 
those who gave it character, courage and power in its 
infancy are now affiliating with the Democratic party, and 
many of the Democratic leaders who were then pro-slavery 
in sentiment, now make their political home with the Re- 
publican party. 



80 politics and politicians op illinois. 

Growth of the Eepublican Party. 

The Eepublican party had a very small beginning in 
Sangamon county. When the Whig party dissolved, its 
members became Native Americans or Democrats. One of 
the first Eepublican caucuses held in Sangamon county 
was at Williams ville, in the spring of 1856, and the only 
Eepublicans present were S. H. Jones, more familiarly 
known as Sam Jones, and Jacob Beck. Mr. Jones occu- 
pied the chair, and Mr. Beck made the speech of the 
occasion. The meeting had been called at their instance, 
and although the house was full of spectators, there was 
no one outside of these gentlemen who dared to announce 
their adhesion to the new party. Jones was made the dele- 
gate to the county convention which met at Springfield, in 
the law office of Lincoln & Herndon. There were only about 
a dozen, in all, present. Lincoln was the leading spirit, 
and pointed out the way to victory. At the following No- 
vember election, Williamsville cast fifteen votes for John 
C. Fremont ; and in 1880, there were some three hundred 
votes polled for Garfield, and the Eepublican majority was 
seventy-five, which shows that the seed of the new party 
was sown in good ground. 

The first Eepublican convention held in Cairo was in 
the spring of 1858. This was called to appoint delegates 
to the State convention at Springfield, which nominated 
Abraham Lincoln for United States Senator, in opposition 
to Douglas. The convention had been thoroughly adver- 
tised, and the house was well filled with people anxious 
to see how the new anti-slavery party progressed. Ee- 
publicanism was by no means popular in that section at 
that time ; and there were just four representatives in the 
convention, namely, D. J. Baker, John C. White, James 
Summerville and C. C. Brown, now a member of the 
well-known law firm of Stuart, Edwards & Brown. White 
was elected chairman and Baker secretary. While the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 31 

committee on resolutions, "which consisted of Summerville 
and Baker, was out, Mr. Brown entertained the audience 
in a speech of some length, on the purpose and hope of 
the party ; and next day the Chicago Tribune appeared 
with an extended account of the convention, entitling it 
the "First Gun from Egypt." 

In 1859, when the Eepublican party was in its very 
infancy in Southern Illinois, William H. Green, then a 
Kepresentative in the Twenty-first General Assembly, in- 
vited to his office, in Metropolis, a few prominent Demo- 
crats, for the purpose of consulting as to the best interests 
of the party. "Gentlemen," said he, "you may think this 
meeting unnecessary, or it may look to you like a farce, 
but I tell you now that the time is coming when the 
Democratic party of this State will have to thoroughly 
organize, if they wish to hold political supremacy; and I 
may say, that even in this county the Eepublican party 
will test our strength to the utmost." The Eepublicans 
of that county were not long in working out a literal ful- 
fillment of Mr. Green's prediction. The first Eepublican 
organization in Massac county took place at Metropolis, 
in the spring of I80O. There were just five persons pre- 
sent — W. E. Brown, E. A. Peter, L. P. Stalcup, Tillman 
Eobey and Thos. Moore. Mr. Brown was made chairman 
and Mr. Stalcup secretary. The vote in that county at 
the Presidential election was 940 for Douglas and John- 
son, 122 for Lincoln and Hamlin, 82 for Bell and Everett, 
and 4 for Breckinridge and Lane. But how marvelous 
the revolution in public sentiment. Massac county now 
gives a Eepublican majority, ranging from 300 to 7C0, and 
the same can be said of many other counties in Southern 
Illinois, the stronghold of Democracy. 



32 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER III. 

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 



First Republican State Ticket— Democratic— Native American— Republicau 
8iioeo.s8— Aggregate Vote for State Officers- Members of Congress- 
Electoral Tieliets. 



The political contest opened up early in the year; that 
being the year of the Presidential election, the State con- 
ventions were necessarily early. There were three parties 
to claim the suffrages of the people. The Democrats held 
their convention at JSpringfield, May 1 ; the Native Ameri- 
cans, at the same place, May 6, and the Eepublicans at 
Bloomington, May 29, when this party was first organized 
of which we speak at length in the preceding chapter. 

The State tickets, for the most part, were made up of 
able, eminent men, and on the electoral tickets the reader 
will observe such names as Abraham Lincoln, Henry P. 
H. Bromwell, David L. Phillips, John A. Logan, Orlando 
B. Ficklin, Wm. A. J. Sparks, Joseph Gillespie, Shelby 
M. Cullom and Wm. H. Parrish. 

Heretofore the Democratic party had encountered little 
or no opposition in the State or Presidential elections, 
but the formation of the Kepablican party, which was 
composed largely of anti- slavery Democrats, had induced 
the belief that the party was in danger of losing its power 
in the State, and the campaign was therefore the more 
active and earnest on their part, and their activity created 
a corresponding industry on the part of the other parties, 
and the result was, that for five months the people in all 



POLITIOS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 83 

parts of the State were kept in attendance night and day upon 
meetings of one or the other of the parties, and agreeably 
to the fears of far-seeing Democrats, the Democratic party 
lost the State election, notwithstanding its candidate for 
President carried it by a plurality of 9,150 over Fremont, 
while the Eepublican State ticket was elected throughout 
by a plurality over the Democratic ticket ranging from 
4,697, to 8,191 and the Republican candidate for Treasurer 
had a majority of 20,213 over his Democratic competitor. 
The following is the aggregate vote for State officers, 
members of Congress, and Presidential electors: 

GOVEP^NOK. 

Wm. H. Bissell, R 111,466 

Wm. A. Richardson, D 106,769 

Buckner S. Morris, N. A 19,088 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John Wood, R 110,603 

R. J. Hamilton, D 104,2J6 

Parmenus Bond, N. A 19,326 

Secretary of State. 

O. M. Hatch, R 115,891 

Wm. H. Snyder, D 106,700 

Wm. H. Young, ^. A 13,992 

Auditor. 

Jesse K. Dubois, R 109,317 

Samuel K. Casey, D 106, ^8o 

Hiram Barber, N. A 20,651 

Treasurer. 

James Miller, R 127,715 

John Moore, D 107,502 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Wm. H. Powell, R 108.584 

John H. St. Matthew, D 105,369 

Ezra Jenkins, N. A 20,573 



34 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Members of Congress — First District. 

Elihu B. Wasbburne, E 18,070 

Kicbard S. Malony, D 6,227 

B. D. Eastman, N. A 251 

Second District. 

Jobn F. Farnsworth, R 21,51S 

Jobn Van Nortwick, D 9,814 

B. F. James, N. A 085 

Third District. 

Owen Lovejoy, B 19,06» 

Uri Osgood, D 15,007 

Fourth District. 

Wm. Pitt Kellogg, R 16,175 

Jas. W. Davidson, D 14,474 

A. H. Griffitb, N. A 967 

Fifth District. 

Jackson Grimsbaw, R 10,294 

Isaac N. Morris, D 12,059 

James S. Irwin, N. A 109- 

Sixth District. 

Jobn Williams. R 12,077 

Tbomas L. Harris, D 14,196 

Seventh District. 

Henry P. H. Bromwell, R 9,878 

Aaron Sbaw, D 12,994 

Eighth District. 

James D. Lansing, R 7,512 

Robert Smitb, D 11,299 

Ninth District. 

Benjamin L. Wiley, R 3,419 

, Samuel S. MarsbaU, D 15,968 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



35 



Presidential Electors — Fremont. 



Abraham Lincoln 

Frederick Hecker 

Elijah P. Terry 

Jerome J. Beardsley. . . . 

William Fithian 

T. Judson Hale 

Abraham Jonas 

Wm. H. Herndon . . , . . . 
Henry P. H. Bromwell. 
Friend S. Rutherford... 
David L. Phillips 



y....*9S,278 



Buchanan. 



Augustus M. Herrington. 

Chas. H. Constable 

Merritt L. Joslyn 

Hugh Maher 

Milton T. Peters 

Eobert Holloway 

John P. Richmond 

Samuel W. Moulton 

Orlando B. Ficklin 

Wm. A. J. Sparks 

John A. Logan 



^105,528 



Fillmore. 



Joseph Gillespie 

Wm. N. Danenhower. 

Orvil Miller, Jr 

Levi D. Boone 

Josiah Snow 

John Durham 

James Irwin 

Shelby M. Cullom.... 

John Coffer 

Joseph H. Sloss 

Wm. H. Parrish 



V....*37,531 



*The records at the office of the Secretary of State show only these fig- 
ures, and it is presumed that they represent the highest number of votes 
cast for the respective electoral tickets. 



36 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

STATE GOVERNMENT-1857. 



Governor — William H. Bissell. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John Wood. 

Secretary of State — 0. M. Hatch. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Jesse K. Dubois. 

Treasurer — William liutler. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Wm. H. Powell. 



Twentieth General Assembly. 

The Twentieth General Assembly convened January 5, 
and consisted of the following members : 

Senate. 

Norman B. Judd, Cook. L. E. Worcester, Greene. 

George Gage, McHenry. C. W. Vanderen, Sangamon. 

Waite Talcott, Winnebrigo. Joel S. Post, Macon. 

J. H. Addams, Stephenson. Snm'l W. Fuller, Tazewell. 

Augustus Adams, Kane. Wm. D. Watson, Coles. 

G. D. A. Parks, Will. Mortimer O'Kean, Jasper. 

B. C. Cook, LaSalle. Silas L. Bryan, Marion. 

J. D. Arnold, Peoria. Joseph Gillespie, Midi^^on. 

T. J. Henderson, Stark. Wm. H. Underwood. St. Clair. 

Wm. C. Goudy. Fulton. Sam'l H. Martin, White. 

Hiram Hose, Henderson. E. C, Coffey, Washington. 

Wm. H. Carliu, Adams. A. J. Kuykendall, Johnson. 
Hugh L. Sutphin, Pike. 

House of Eepresentatives. 

John Dougherty. Union. E. C. Ingersoll, Gallatin. 

Wesley Sloan, Pope. John A. Log-tn, Jackson. 

Thomas Jones, Johnson. Jas. H. Watt, Randolph. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



37 



Samuel Christy, Cass. 
A. W. Morgan, Logan. 
Jerome E. Gorin, Macon. 
Oliver L. Davis, Vermilion. 
J. H. Wickizer, McLean. 
Daniel Trail, Tazewell. 
A. V. T. Gilbert, Warren. 
M. Sballenberger, Stark. 
John T. Lindsey, Peoria. 
Robert Boal, Marshall. 
Elmer Baldwin, LaSalle. 
Jas. N. Eeadiiig, Grundy. 
John M. Crothers, Kendall. 
Truman W. Smith, Will. 
Franklin Blades, Iroquois. 
W. A. Chatlield, Kankakee. 
David M. Kelsey, DeKalb. 
Wm. E. Parker, Kane. 
Geo. W. Eadc]iffe, Bureau. 
H. G. Little, Henry. 
John V. Eustace, Lee. 
Dan'l J. Pinckney, Ogle. 
C. B. Denio, JoDaviess. 
EoUin Wheeler, Carroll. 
John A. Davis, Stephenson. 
Wm. Lathrop, Winnebago. 
L. S. Church, McHenry. 
L. W. Lawrence, Boone. 
W. M. Burbank, Lake. 
John H. Dunham, Cook. 
George W. Morris, Cook. 
Isaac N. Arnold, Cook. 
A. F. C. Mueller, Cook. 
David H. Frisbie, Knox. 



H. S. Osborn, Washington. 
John A. Wilson, Hn milt on. 
W. B. Anderson, Jefferson. 
John E. Whiting, White. 
Charles P. Burns, Wayne. 
Wm. E. Morrison, Monroe. 
Vital Jarrot, St. Clair. 
Wm. W. Eoman, St. Clair. 
Wm. A. J. Sparks, Clinton. 
Lewis Eicks, Madison. 
Aaron P. Mason, Madison. 
Daniel Gregory, Fayette. 
F. D. Preston, Eiehland. 
Isaac Wilkins, Crawford. 
Nathan Willard, Clark. 
S. W. Moulton, Shelby. 
Calvin Goudy, Christian. 
B. T. Burke, Macoupin. 
Wright Casey, Jersey. 
John W. Huitt, Gieene. 
Sam'l Connelly, Edgar. 
Jas. E. Wyche, Coles. 
Jas. J. Mtgredy, Sangamon, 
S. M. CuUom, Sangamon. 
Cyrus Epler, Morgan, 
E. B. Hitt, Scott. 
John L. Grimes, Pike. 
King Kerley, Brown. 
Samuel Holmes, Adams. 
M. M. Bane, Adams. 
L. D. Erwin, Schuyler. 
Wm. Tyner, Hancock. 
George Hire, McDonough. 
Joseph Dyckes, Fulton. 
James H. Stipp, Fulton. 

The Democrats had a majority in both houses. Lieut. 
Gov. John Wood was the presiding ofBcer of the Senate, 
and Ben. Bond was elected Secretary over E. T. Bridges, 
by a vote of 13 to 10. 

Samuel Holmes was elected Speaker of the House over 
Isaac N. Arnold, by a vote of 86 to 28, and Charles Lieb 
was elected Clerk over E. T. Bridges, by a vote of 38 
to 29. 



33 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Of the prominent men, or those to attain prominence, 
of the two houses, there were : Jiidd, Cook, Henderson, 
Bryan, Gillespie, Underwood, Kuykendall, Dougherty, 
Sloan, Ingersoll, Logan, Anderson, Morrison, Sparks, 
Moulton, Cullom, Epler, 0. L. Davis, Blades, Lathrop, 
Isaac N. Arnold. 

The message of Mr. Matteson, the retiring Governor, 
was submitted to the two houses on the 6th of January. 
Beferring to the condition of the people, he said : 

" Even in the midst of adverse elements, the hand 
of abundance has been opened upon the harvests of the 
husbandman. The firesides of the humble have been pro- 
tected and happy, and everywhere throughout the State 
labor is reaping a rich reward. 

" With these sentiments, and a deep sense of thankful- 
ness towards a generous people for the confidence so 
freely extended, I am now about to surrender, wdth cheer- 
fulisess, to my successor and to you, the trusts which have 
engaged my attention for the last four years. I do this 
the more cheerfully because I recognize in you and my 
successor agents appointed by the people to receive them, 
and eminently qualified to keep and discharge them 
faithfully. I sunder the last ofiicial connections with her 
councils with emotions of no ordinary character. Having 
very great confidence in the patriotism and capacity of 
the distinguished individual elected to become my suc- 
cessor, I invoke for you and him harmony in council and 
patriotism of purpose.'' 

The exhibit relating to the State debt made in his mes- 
sage showed that there had been paid during Mr. Matte- 
son's administration, of principal and interest, $7,079,198.42, 
leaving a debt of $12,834,144.85. 

The revenue of the Illinois and Michigan Canal was 
estimated at $150,000 for the year 1857. 

In closing his message, Mr. Matteson said : 

"I lay down the cares of office with cheerfulness, and 
surrender the responsible interests of the State into the 
hands of my successor and yourselves, with the prayer 
upon my heart that her progress may continue, and her 
people, for a long time in the future, live in the enjoy- 
ment of republican freedom, prosperity and happiness." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 39 

Gov. Matteson's administration had been eminently pop- 
ular, the people had become prosperous and happy, and 
the State debt had been placed in course of ultimate and 
easy extinction. 

Owing to the physical disability of Gov. Bissell, caused 
by an attack of paralysis, the two houses repaired to the 
Executive Mansion on the 12th of January, and in their 
presence he took the oath of office, and at his request his 
message was read to the two houses on the same day by 
I. K. Diller. Mr. Bissell recommended the erection of a 
new penitentiary ; the revision of the school law ; friendly 
legislation in the interest of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
and paid a fitting compliment to the men who had been 
foremost in the inception of that great enterprise, in these 
words : 

"It is but reasonable, perhaps, that I should here avail 
myself of the opportunity of distinguishing certnin indi- 
viduals who were prominent in the inception of this great 
■enterprise. To Morris Ketchum, George Griswold, David A. 
Neal and Jonathan Sturges, are we mai; ly indebted for the 
successful carrying out of this great project. Mr. Ketchum, 
especially, was as active as he was efficient in organizing 
the company, and in devising ways and means for the prose- 
cution of the work. In these things he was al)ly sustained 
by the other gentlemen named. And on more than one 
•occasion, when the prospects of the enterprise were shrouded 
in gloom and doubt, and when nothing but the most bold 
and skillfal policy could have saved it, these gentlemen 
risked their own private means to an extent which, had 
the enterprise failed, would have involved some of them, 
at least, in irretrievable ruin. I take pleasure, therefore, 
in placing these gentlemen before the State in the light 
which I know is proper to them, that our people in future 
may never forget to whom they are mostly indebted for 
the great work of the Central Bailroad." 

The agitation of the slavery question was then the sub- 
ject which occupied the attention of the people of the 
State more than all others, and Mr. Bissell, having been 
elected on the Republican ticket as an anti-Nebraska Dem- 
ocrat, alluded to the question in these terms : 



40 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"The question of the extension of slavery into our new 
National territory, although not forming any part of State 
politics, was, nevertheless, so prominent a feature in the 
late canvass, as to create the expectation, perhaps, that I 
should, on this occasion, say something concerning it. 

"Up to the time of the repeal of the Missouri Compro- 
mise, I had ever considered the existence of slavery within 
the United States as an anomaly m our republican sys- 
tem, tolerated by a necessity springing from the actual 
presence of the mstitutiun among us when our Constitu- 
tion was adopted. 

"The pro^isions in the Constitution for a slave basis of 
representation, and for the reclamation of fugitives from 
laljor, I had supposed, and si ill suppose, were admitted 
there upon that necessity. And that such were also the 
views of a vast majority of the American people, both 
North and South, I had, until the introduction of the Kan- 
sas-Nebraska bill, never doubted. 

"But the introduction, progress and passage of that 
measure, together with the course of argument made to 
sustain it, forced me reluctantly to the conclusion that, 
if finally successful, slavery is no longer to be considered 
or treated as anomalous in our system, but is rather, 
thenceforward, to be a leading and favorite element of 
society, to be politically recognized as such, and to which 
all else must bend and conform. This conclusion is 
strengthened, not a little, by the subsequent administration 
of the measure, in the same hands which originated and 
matured it. Considering that we are intelligent people, 
living in an enlightened age, and professing the peaceful 
doctrines of Christianity, and a love of liberty above all 
things earthly, it may well be doubted whether, when the 
world's history shall have been written to its close, it will 
contain a more extraordinary page than that which shall 
record the history of Kansas in 1855 and 1856. 

"Forced to the conclusion stated, a large portion of our 
fellow-citizens, myself among them, have resisted the con- 
summation as we best could ; and believing that not the 
fate of the negro alone, but the liberties of the white 
man, of all men, are involved in the issue, we shall con- 
tinue to resist according to our best ability. 

"In doing this we shall ever be careful neither to forget 
nor disregard the value of the Union, the obligations of 
the Constitution, nor even the courtesies due our brethren 
of the South." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 41 

The legislation of this session was mainly directed in 
the interest of the several towns or local communities, but 
among the more important laws enacted were the acts to 
establish and maintain free schools ; to establish and main- 
tain a normal university at Bloomington ; to amend the 
banking law ; to provide for a general system of railroad 
incorporations ; to provide for the incorporation of county 
agricultural societies ; to fund the arrears of interest 
accrued and unpaid on the public debt ; to lease the pen- 
itentiary to Samuel K. Casey for five years, and to build 
an additional penitentiary, in which David Y. Bridges, 
Chauncey L. Higbee and Nelson D. Edwards were consti- 
tuted commissioners, with full power and authority to 
select and obtain, by purchase, a suitable site for the 
same. 

The topics which claimed the time of the House and 
elicited the attention of the people in general, was the 
discussion of the motion to print 20,000 copies of Gov. 
Bissell's message for the use of the House, and a resolu- 
tion to repeal the "black laws." There had been a unani- 
mous vote in favor of printing 20,000 copies of Matteson's 
message, in English, and a vote of 65 ayes to 4 noes, in 
favor of printing 5,000 copies in German, but when it was 
proposed to print 20,000 copies of Bissell's message, a 
motion was made to reduce the number to 10,00J. The 
House being Democratic, and Mr. Bissell ha\ing been 
elected as a Eepublican, there was a strong disposition to 
circumscribe the publication of his message, and the 
motion to print 10,000 instead of 20,000 copies continued 
the subject of an angry debate for over a week, when, on 
the 20ih of January, the resolution passed in that form 
by a vote of 41 ayes to 32 noes. 

On the 10th of February, Mr. Kelsey presented a peti- 
tion of the citizens of Illinois, praying for the repeal of 
certain black laws, which was referred to a select committee 



42 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

of three, consisting of Messrs. Kelsey, Pinckney and Wyche. 
February 16, Mr. Wyche, from a minority of the com- 
mittee to which the petition had been referred, made a 
report, which, on motion of Mr. Jarrot, was laid on the 
table by a vote of 28 ayes to 42 noes, which ended the 
discussion on that subject. 
A sine die adjournment was taken on February 19. 



CHAPTER V. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1858. 



Three Tickets: Republican — Democrat— Buchanan Democrat— Aggregate 
Vote for State Officers- Aggregate Vote by Districts for Members of Con- 
gress. 



The Democrats were the first to nominate a State ticket 
to be voted for at the ensuing November election. The 
convention was held at Springfield, on the 21st of April. 
W. B. Fondey was nominated for Treasurer, and ex-Gov. 
August C. French for Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion ; and although Stephen A. Douglas was the very idol 
of the intelligent portion of the party, yet the conven- 
tion did not, in unmistaken terms, condemn the admin- 
istration of Buchanan for its attempt to force Kansas into 
the Union as a slave State, in opposition to the expressed 
will of a majority of the people of the Territory, nor did it 
indorse Douglas for re-election to the United States Sen- 
ate for his manly resistance to this great wrong, but left 
him to make the canvass as best he could. But that por- 
tion of the party best known as the office-holders, were 
not willing that he should have the race to himself, or 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 43 

that the men nominated should be accepted as the can- 
didates of the National Democratic party. They accord- 
ingly held an opposition convention in Springfield, on the 
i)th of May, and nominated John Dougherty for Treasurer, 
and ex-Gov. John Eeynolds for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

The Eepublicans met at the same place, on the 15th of 
June, and nominated James Miller for Treasurer, and 
Newton Bateman for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The State was thoroughly canvassed by all the candi- 
dates, but it was apparent, from the first, that the prime 
object of the Buchanan faction was to break down Douglas. 
They vigorously and bitterly assaulted him from the one 
side, while Lincoln pursued him with great power and in- 
imitable ability on the other; but, notwithstanding this 
two-fold attack, a legislature favorable to Douglas' re-elec- 
tion was chosen, although the Eepublicans elected their 
State ticket by a vote of 125,430, as against 121,609 for the 
regular Democratic ticket. The so-called Nationals received 
but 5,071 votes. Not a single Buchanan Democrat was 
elected to either house, which rendered the vindication of 
Douglas before the people the more gratifying to his friends. 

The aggregate vote for State ofiicers and Congressmen, 
by districts, is as follows : 

Treasurer. 

James Miller, E 125,430 

"Wm. B. Fondey, D 121,609 

John Dougherty, B. D 5,071 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Newton Bateman, E 124,556 

August C. French, D. . . . , r2-2,.13 

John Eeynolds, B. D 5,173 



44 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Membebs of Congbess — First District. 

Elihu B. Washburne, E 15,811 

Hiram Bright • <>,457 

Jtiichard H. Jackson 370 

Scattering 7 

Second District. 

John F. Farnswortb, E 21,797 

Thomas Dyer 13,198 

B. F. Blackburn 701 

Scattering 3 

Third District. 

Owen Lovejoy, E 22,313 

George W. Armstrong 14,968 

David Leroy 1,328 

Scattering 14 

Fourth District. 

William Kellogg, E 19.487 

James W. Davidson 16,860 

Jacob Gale 5oS 

Scattering 1 

Fifth District. 

Isaac N. Morris, D 13.529 

Jackson Grimshaw 11,648 

Jacob C. Davis 504 

Sixth District. 

Thomas L. Harris, D 16.193 

James H. Matheny 11,646 

John L. McConnel 275 

Scattering 3 

Seventh District. 

James C. Eobinson, D 13,588 

Eichard J. Oglesby 11,760 

S. G. Baldwin 37 

Scattering 1 




:^tephe: 



-ZHioTisM OF Illinois ' clapee& c; 



politics and politicians of illinois. 45 

Eighth District. 

Phillip B. Fouke, D 11,490 

Jehu Baker 8,410 

Thomas M. Hope 193 

Ninth District. 

John A. Logan, D 15,878 

David L. Phillips 2,796 

Wm. K. Parrish 144 



CHAPTER VI, 
DOUGLAS AND LINCOLN-1858. 



Lincoln's Challenge of Douglas for a Joint Debate— Douglas' Reply— Lin- 
coln's Rejoinder— Debate at Freeport. 



The campaign between Douglas and Lincoln for a seat 
in the United States Senate, was the most noted in the 
annals of the history of any of the States ; and we have 
given precedence to the name of Douglas for the reason 
that at that time he was regarded as the foremost states- 
man in the land ; while the reputation of Lincoln was 
confined chiefly to his own State. The character of the 
two men as regards their prominence in the public mind 
may be better understood by quoting briefly from a speech 
made by Mr. Lincoln, in Springfield, on the evening of 
the 28th of July, which is taken from a report printed in 
the State Register of the following day. Pioferring to 
Douglas, he said: "All the anxious politicians of his 
party have been looking to him as certainly at no very distant 



46 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

day to be the President of the United States. They have 
seen in his round, jolly, fruitful face, post-offices, land- 
offices, marshalships, and cabinet appointments, charge- 
ships and foreign missions bursting and spouting out in 
wonderful exuberance, ready to be laid hold of by their 
greedy hands. And as they have been gazing upon this 
attractive picture so long, they cannot, in the little dis- 
traction that has taken place in the party, bring them- 
selves to quite give up the charming hope ; but with 
greedier anxiety they rush about him, sustain him, give 
him marches, triumphal entries and receptions beyond 
what even in the days of his highest prosperity they could 
have brought about in his favor. On the contrary, no- 
body has ever expected me to be President." Although 
there is some sarcasm mixed with this allusion to Doug- 
las, yet it is evident that Mr. Lincoln felt that his adver- 
sary possessed an advantage over him by reason of his 
National reputation ; and it is doubtful if Lincoln himself, 
or any of his warmest admirers, had the slighest hope 
that he would ever rise to the exalted position in which 
Douglas was held in the eyes of his countrymen. 

The Democratic party was divided. There was the 
Buchanan Democracy, and the Douglas Democracy. The 
Administration of Buchanan had sought to force Kansas 
into the union of States with a constitution which pro- 
tected slavery. Douglas had opposed this unjust policy 
with manly courage, and the issue was carried to Illinois, 
and on it he made his campaign for re-election to the 
United States Senate. The office-holders were opposed to 
him, but the untrammeled masses of his party were 
almost to a man in favor of his re-election, notwithstand- 
ing the State convention had given him only a half- 
hearted endorsement. Lincoln, on the other hand, had 
been chosen by a State convention of the Kepublican 
party as their candidate for United States Senator, with 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 47 

the unqualified avowal that he was opposed to the further 
extension of slavery. -At the convention which nominated 
him for that distinguished trust, which was held in Spring- 
field, that year, Mr. Lincoln, in the course of an address 
to that body, gave utterance to these memorable words : 
"If we could first know where we are, and whither we 
are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and 
how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a 
policy was initiated with the avowed object and confident 
promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under 
the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only 
not cased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion 
it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached 
and passed. 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' 
I believe this government cannot endure permanently half 
slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be 
dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall— but I do 
expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one 
thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where 
the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the 
course of ultimate extinction, or, its advocates will put it 
forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, 
old as well as new. North as well as South. Have we no 
tendency to the latter condition?" Mr. Lincoln had evi- 
dently been deeply impressed with the National situation 
upon the question of slavery, and while his party had no 
well defined theory as to what ought to be done in the 
premises, or what would be the final outcome of the mo- 
mentous issue, yet he believed in his own mind that the 
slavery question could not long continue to agitate the 
public mind in the form it then presented itself, but that 
sooner or later a crisis would come which would forever 
remove the subject from controversy between the people 



48 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

of the North and South, and these words were as pro- 
phetic as they were significant, and showed conclusively 
that Lincoln thought more of the true interests of his 
country than he did of his personal advancement polit- 
ically. 

On the 24th of July, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a 
joint discussion of the issues between the two parties, and 
after some circumlocution on the part of the great Sena- 
tor, he accepted the challenge, suggesting seven meetings, 
naming Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Gales- 
burg, Qaincy and Alton, reserving for himself four openings 
and closings. Lincoln accepted the proposition without 
delay and without ceremony. The debates were attended 
by thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom 
came from neighboring States, traveling hundreds of miles 
to witness the intellectual conflict between these great 
men. Indeed, the contest attracted the attention of the 
people of every State in the Union, and from that time 
to this our State has really been the central figure in 
National politics. This discussion even surpassed the cam- 
paign of Henry A. Wise against Native Americanism in 
"Virginia. While it lasted, many people turned aside from 
their daily pursuits, and employed their time in watching 
and reading the progress of this most wonderful and excit- 
ing contest, which opened at Ottawa on the 21st of August, 
and closed at Alton on the 15th of October, occupying a 
period of fifty-six days. The debates were produced in 
book-form under the direction of their respective short- 
hand reporters, and we deem it but fit that we should 
. reproduce one of their joint discussions in full, that the 
reader may form a better idea of the mental character 
of these grand men as they appeared before the country. 
We have selected the meeting which took place at Free- 
port on the 27 bh of August as the one which shall best 
serve that purpose, it being their second joint debate. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 49 

The interrogatories put to Douglas on that occasion by 
Lincoln undoubtedly had the effect to return Douglas to 
the Senate, and make Lincoln President. 

Here is the correspondence which passed between them 
in relation to the joint debate: 

Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Douglas. 

"Chicago, III., July 24, 1858. 
"Hon. S. a. Douglas — My Dear Sir: Will it be agree- 
able to you to make nn arrangement for you and myself 
to divide time, and address the same audiences the pres- 
ent caiivass ? Mr. Judd, who will hand you this, is author- 
ized to receive your answer ; and, if agreeable to you, to 
enter into the terms of such agreement. 

"Your obedient servant, 

" A. Lincoln." 

Mr. Douglas to Mr. Lincoln. 

" Chicago, III., July 24, 1858. 

" Hon. a. Lincoln — Dear Sir: Your note of this date, 
in which you inquire if it would be agreeable to me to make 
an arrangement to divide the time and address the same 
audiences during the present canvass, was handed me by 
Mr. Judd. Eecent events have interposed difficulties in the 
way of such an arrangement. 

"I went to Springfield last week for the purpose of con- 
ferring with the Democratic State Central Committee upon 
the mode of conducting the canvass, and with them, and 
under their advice, made a list of appointments covering 
the entire period until late in October. The people of the 
several localities have been notified of the times and places 
of the meetings. Those appointments have all been made 
for Democratic meetings, and arrangements have been 
made by which the Democratic candidates for Congress, 
for the Legislature, and other offices, will be present and 
address the people. It is evident, therefore, that these 
various candidates, in connection with myself, will occupy 
the whole time of the day and evening, and leave no 
opportunity for other speeches. 

"Besides, there is another consideration which should 
be kept in mind. It has been suggested recently that an 
arrangement had been made to bring out a third candi- 
date for the United States Senate, who, with yourself, 
—4 



50 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

should canvass the State in opposition to me, with no 
other purpose than to insure my defeat, by dividing the 
Democratic party for your benefit. If I should make this 
arrangement with you, it is more than probable that this 
other candidate, who has a common object with you, 
would desire to become a party to it, and claim the right 
to speak from the same stand ; so that he and you, in 
concert, might be able to take the opening and closing 
speech in every case. 

" I cannot refrain from expressing my surprise, if it was 
your original intention to invite such an arrangement, that 
you should have waited until after I had made my appoint- 
ments, inasmuch as we were both here in Chicago together 
for several days after my arrival, and again at Blooming- 
ton, AtJanta, Lincoln and Springfield, where it was well 
known I went for the purpose of consulting with the State 
Central Committee, and agreeing upon the plan of the 
campaign. 

" While, under these circumstances, I do not feel at liberty 
to make any arrangements which would deprive the Demo- 
cratic candidates for Congress, State offices, and the Legis- 
lature from participating in the discussion at the various 
meetings designated by the Democratic State Central Com- 
mittee, I will, in order to accommodate you as far as it 
is in my power to do so, take the responsibility of making 
an arrangement with you for a discussion between us at 
one prominent point in each Congressional District in the 
State, except the second and sixth districts, where we have 
both spoken, and in each of which cases you had the con- 
cluding speech. If agreeable to you, I will indicate the 
following places as those most suitable in the several Con- 
gressional Districts at which we should speak, to- wit : 
Freeport, Ottawa, Galesburg, Quincy, Alton, Jonesboro and 
Charleston. I will confer with you at the earliest con- 
venient opportunity in regard to the mode of conducting 
the debate, the times of meeting at the several places, 
subject to the condition, that where appointments have 
already been made by the Democratic State Central Com- 
mittee at any of those places, I must insist upon you 
meeting me at the times specified. 

"Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

"S. A. Douglas." 



politics and politicians of illinois. 61 

Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Douglas. 

" Springfield, July 29, 1858. 

"Hon. S. a. Douglas — Dear Sir: Yours of the 24tb in 
relation to an arrangement to divide time, and address the 
same audiences, is received: and, in apology for not sooner 
replying, allow me to say, that when I sat by you at din- 
ner yesterday, I was not aware that you had answered my 
note, nor, certainly, that my own note had been presented 
to you. An hour after, I saM' a copy of your answer in 
the Chicago Times, and, reaching home, I found the orig- 
iual awaiting me. Protesting that your insinuations of 
attempted unfairness on my part are unjust, and with the 
hope that you did not very considerately make them, I 
proceed to reply. To your statement that 'It has been sug- 
gested, recently, that an arrangement had been made to 
bring out a third candidate for the United States Senate, 
who, with yourself, should canvass the State in opposition 
to me,' etc., I can only say that such suggestion must 
have been made by yourself, for certainly none such has 
been made by or to me, or otherwise, to my knowledge. 
Surely you did not deliberately conclude, as you insinuate, 
that I was expecting to draw you into an arrangement of 
terms, to be agreed on by yourself, by which a third can- 
didate and myself, 'in concert, might be able to take the 
opening and closing speech in every case.' 

"As to your surprise that I did not sooner make the 
proposal to divide time with you, I can only say, I made 
it as soon as I resolved to make it. I did not know but 
that such proposal would come from you. 1 waited, re- 
spectfully, to see. It may have been well known to you 
that you went to Springfield for the purpose of agreeing 
on the plan of campaign ; but it was not so known to me. 
"When your appointments were announced in the papers, 
extending only to the 21st of August, I, for the first time, 
considered it certain that you would make no proposal to 
me, and then resolved that, if my friends concurred, I 
would make one to you. As soon thereafter as I could 
see and consult with friends satisfactorily, I did make the 
proposal. It did not occur to me that the proposed ar- 
rangement could derange your plans after the latest of 
your appointments already made. After that, there was, 
before the election, largely over two months of clear time. 

"For you to state that we have already spoken at Chicago 
and Springfield, and that on both occasions I had the con- 
cluding speech, is hardly a fair statement. The truth, 



52 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

rather, is this : At Chicago, July 9th, you made a care- 
fully prepared coDclusion on iny speech of June 16th, 
Twenty-four hours after, I made a hasty conclusion on 
yours of the 9th. You had six days to prepare, and con- 
cluded on me again at Bloomington on the 16th. Twenty- 
four hours after, I concluded again on you at Springfield. 
In the meantime, you had made another conclusion on me 
at Springfield, which I did not iiear, and of the contents 
of which I knew nothing when I spoke ; so that your speech 
made in dayh'ght, and mine at night, of the 17th, at Spring- 
field, were both made in perfect independence of each other. 
The dates of making all these speeches will show, I think, 
that in the matter of time for preparation, the advantage 
has all been on your side, and that none of the external 
circumstances have stood to my advantage. 

"I agree to an arrangement for us to speak at the 
seven places you have named, and at your own times, 
provided you name the times at once, so that I, as well 
as you, can have myself the time not covered by the ar- 
rangement. As to the other details, I wish perfect reci- 
procity, and no more. I wish as much time as you, and 
that conclusions shall alternate. That is all. 
" Your obedient servant, 

"A. Lincoln." 

"P. S. As matters now stand, I shall be at no more 
of your exclusive meetings; and for about a week from 
to-day a letter from you will reach me at Springfield. 

"A. L." 

Mk. Douglas to Mk. Lincoln. 

"Eement, Piatt Co., III., July 30. 1P58. 
"Dear Sir: Your letter, dated yesterday, accepting my 
proposition for a joint discussion at one prominent point 
in each Congressional District, as stated in my previous 
letter, was received this morning. 

"The times and places designated are as follows: 
Ottawa, LaSalle county, August 21st, 1858. 
Freeport, Stephenson county, August 27th, 1858. 
Jonesboro, Union county, September 15fh, 
Charleston, Coles county, " 18th, 

Galesburg, Knox county, October 7th, 
Qnincy, Adams county, " 13th, 

Alton, Madison county, " 15th, 

. "I agree to your suggestion that we shall alternately 
open and close the discussion. I will speak at Ottawa 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 53 

one hour, you can reply, occupying an hour and a half, 
and I will then follo-vv for half an hour. At Freeport you 
shall open the discussion, and speak one hour, I will fol- 
low for an hour and a half, and you can then reply for 
half an hour. We will alternate in like manner in each 
successive place. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"S. A. Douglas." 
"Hon. a. Lincoln, Springfield, 111." 

Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Douglas. 

" Springfield, III., July 31, 1858. 
"Hon. S. a. Douglas — Dear Sir: Yours of yesterday, 
naming places, times and terms, for joint discussions be- 
tween us, was received this morning. Although, by the 
terms, as you propose, you take four openings and closings, 
to my three, I accede, and thus close the arrangement. 
I diiect this to you at Hillsboro, and shall try to have 
both your letter and this appear in the Journal and 
Register of Monday morning. 

"Your obedient servant, 

"A. Lincoln." 



Second Joint Debate at Freeport, August 27, 1858. 

MR. Lincoln's speech. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen: On Saturday last. Judge 
Douglas and myself first met in public discussion. He 
spoke one hour, I an hour and a half, and he replied for 
half an hour. The order is now reversed. I am to speak 
an hour, he an hour and a half, and then I am to reply 
for half an hour. I propose to devote myself during the 
first hour to the scope of what was brought within the 
range of his half hour's speech at Ottawa. Of course 
there was brought within the scope in that half hour's 
speech something of his own opening speech. In the course 
of that opening argument Judge Douglas proposed to me 
seven distinct interrogatories. In my speech of an hour 
and a half, I attended to some other parts of his speech, 
and incidentally, as I thought, answered one of the inter- 
rogatories then. I then distinctly intimated to him that 
I would answer the rest of his interrogatories on condi- 
tion only that he should agree to answer as many for me. 



54 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

He made no intimation at the time of the proposition, 
nor did he in his reply aHude at all to that suggestion 
of mine. I do him no injustice in saying that he occu- 
pied at least half of his reply in dealing with me as 
though I had refused to answer his interrogatories. I now 
propose that I will answer any of the interrogatories, upon 
condition that he will answer questions from me not ex- 
ceeding the same number. I give him an opportunity to 
respond. The Judge remains silent. I now say that I 
will answer his interrogatories, whether he answers mine 
or not ; and that after I have done so, I shall propound 
mine to him. 

" I have supposed myself, since the organization of the 
Eepublican party at Bloomington, in May, 1856, bound, 
as a party man, by the platforms of the party, then and 
since. If, in any interrogatories which I shall answer, 
I go beyond the scope of what is within these platforms, 
it will be perceived that no one is responsible but my- 
self. Having said this much, I will take up the Judge's 
interrogatories as I find them printed in the Chicago 
Times, and answer them seriatim. In order that there 
may be no mistake about it, I have copied the interroga- 
tories in writing, and also my answers to them. The 
first one of these interrogatories is in these words : " 

Question 1. " I desire to know whether Lincoln to-day 
stands, as he did in 1854, in favor of the unconditional 
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law?" 

Answer. "I do not now, nor ever did, stand in favor 
of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law.'' 

Q. 2. " I desire him to answer whether he stands 
pledged to-day, as he did in 1854, against the admission of 
any more slave States into the Union, even if the people 
want them?" 

A. "I do not now, nor ever did, stand pledged against 
the admission of any more slave States into the Union." 

Q. 3. "I want to know whether he stands pledged 
against the admission of a new State into the Union 
with such a constitution as the people of that State may 
Bee fit to make?" 

A. "I do not stand pledged against the admission of 
a new State into the Union, with such a constitution as 
the people of that State may see fit to make." 

Q. 4. "I want to know whether he stands to-day, 
pledged to the abolition of slavery in the District of Col- 
umbia?" 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 65 

A. "I do not stand to-day pledged to the abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia." 

Q. 5. "I desire him to answer whether he stands 
pledged to the prohibition of the slave-trade between the 
different States? " 

A. "I do not stand pledged to the prohibition of the 
slave-trade between the different States." 

Q. 6. "I desire to know whether he stands pledged to 
prohibit slavery in all the Territories of the United States, 
north as well as south of the Missouri Compromise line?" 

A. "I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a 
belief in the right and dufy of Congress to prohibit 
slavery in all the United States Territories. " 

Q. 7. " I desire him to answer whether he is opposed 
to the acquisition of any new territory unless slavery is 
first prohibited therein." 

A. " i am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of 
territory ; and, in any given case, I would or would not 
oppose such acquisition, accordingly as I might think such 
acquisition would or would not aggravate the slavery ques- 
tion among ourselves." 

" Now, my friends, it will be perceived, upon an exam- 
ination of these questions and answers, that, so far, I have 
only answered that I was not pledged to this, that or the 
other. The Judge has not framed his interrogatories to 
ask me anything more than this, and I have answered in 
strict accordance with the interrogatories, and have answered 
truly that I am not 2)ledged at all upon any of the points 
to which I have answered. But I am not disposed to hang 
upon the exact form of his interrogatory. I am, rather, 
disposed to take up at least some of these questions, and 
state what I really think upon them. 

" As to the first one, in regard to the Fugitive Slave 
Law, I have never hesitated to say, and I do not now hesi- 
tate to say, that I think, under the Constitution of the 
United States, the people of the Southern States are en- 
titled to a Congressional Fugitive Slave Law. Having said 
that, I have had nothing to say in regard to the existing Fugi- 
tive Slave Law, further than that I think it should have 
been framed so as to be free from some of the objections 
that pertain to it, without lessening its efficiency. And 
inasmuch as we are not now in an agitation in regard to 
an alteration or modification of that law, I would not be 
the man to introduce it as a new subject of agitation upon 
the general question of slavery. 



56 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

" In regard to the other question, of whether I am pledged 
to the admission of any more slave States into the Union, 
I state to you very frankly that I would be exceedingly 
sorry ever to be put in a position of having to pass upon 
that question. I should be exceedingly glad to know that 
there would never be another slave State admitted into the 
Union ; but, I must add, that if slavery shall be kept out 
of the Territories during the territorial existence of any one 
given Territory, and then the people shall, having a fair 
chance and a clear held, when they come to adopt the con- 
stitution, do such an extraordinary thing as to adopt a 
slave constitution, uninfluenced by the actual presence of 
the institution among them, I see no alternative, if we 
own the country, but to admit them into the Union. 

" The third interrogatory is answered by the answer to 
the second, it being, as I conceive, the same as the second. 

" The fourth one is in regard to the abolition of slavery 
in the District of Columbia. In relation to that I have 
my mind distinctly made up. I should be exceedingly glad 
to see slavery abolished in the District of Columbia. I 
believe that Congress possesses the constitutional power 
to abolish it. Yet, as a member of Congress, I should 
not, with my present views, be in favor of endeavonng to 
abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, unless it would 
be upon these conditions : First, that the abolition should 
be gradual ; second, that it should be on a vote of the ma- 
jority of qualified voters in the District ; and third, that 
compensation should be made to unwilling owners. With 
these three conditions, I confess I would be exceedingly 
glad to see Congress abolish slavery in the District of 
Columbia, and, in the language of Henry Clay, * sweep 
from our capital that foul blot upon our Nation.' 

"In regard to the fifth interrogatory, I must say here, 
that as to the question of the abolition of the slave-trade 
between the different States, I can truly answer, as I have, 
that i am pledged to nothing about it. It is a subject to 
which I have not given that mature consideration that 
would make me feel authorized to state a position so as 
to hold myself entirely bound by it. In other words, that 
question has never been prominently enough before me to 
induce me to investigate whether we really have the con- 
stitutional power to do it. I could investigate it, if I had 
sufticient time to bring myself to a conclusion upon that 
subject ; but I have not done so, and I say so frankly to 
you here, and to Judge Douglas. I must say, however, 
that if I should be of opinion that Congress does possess 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 57 

the constitutional power to abolish the slave-trade among 
the diiferent .States, I should still not be in favor of the 
exercise of that power, unless upon some conservative 
principle, as I conceive it akin to what I have said in 
relation to the abolition of slavery in the District of 
Columbia. 

"My answer as to whether I desire that slavery should 
be prohibited in all the Territories of the United States, 
is full and explicit within itself, and cannot be made 
clearer by any comments of mine. So, I suppose, in regard 
to the question, whether I am opposed to the acquisition 
of any more territory unless slavery is first prohibited 
therein, my answer is such that I could add nothing by 
way of illustration, or making myself better understood, 
than the answer which I have placed in writing. 

"Now, in all this the Judge has me, and he has me on 
the record. I suppose he had flattered himself that I was 
really entertaining one set of opinions for one place and 
another set for another place — that I was afraid to say 
at one place what I uttered at another. What I am say- 
ing here, I suppose I say to a vast audience as strongly 
tending to Abolitionism as any audience in the State of 
Illinois, and I believe I am saying that which, if it would 
be offensive to any persons and render them enemies to 
myself, would be offensive to persons in this audience. 

"I now proceed to propound to the Judge the interroga- 
tories, so far as I have framed them. I will bring forward 
a new installment when I get them ready. I will bring 
them forward now, only reaching to number four. The 
first one is : 

"Question 1. If the people of Kansas shall, by means 
entirely unobjectionable in all other respects, adopt a 
State constitution, and ask admission into the Union under 
it, before they have the requisite number of inhabitants, 
according to the Enplish bill — some ninety-three thousand 
— will you vote to admit them? 

"Q. 2. Can the people of a United States Territory, in 
any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the 
United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the 
formation of a State constitution? 

"Q. 3. If the Supreme Court of the United States shall 
decide that States cannot exclude slavery from their limits, 
are you in favor of acquiescing in, adopting and following 
such decision as a rule of political action? 



58 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

** Q. 4, Are you in favor of acquiring additional territory, 
in disregard of how such acquisition may affect the Nation 
on the slavery question? 

"As introductory to these interrogatories which Judge 
Douglas propounded to me at Ottawa, he read a set of 
resolutions which he said Judge Trumbull and myself had 
participated in adopting, in the first KepubHcan State Con- 
vention, held at Springfield, in October, 1854. He insisted 
that I and Judge Trumbull, and perhaps the entire Eepub- 
lican party, were responsible for the doctrines contained 
in the set of resolutions which he read, and I understand 
that it was from that set of resolutions that he deduced 
the interrogatories which he propounded to me, using these 
resolutions as a sort of authority for propounding those 
questions to me. Now, I say here to-day, that I do not 
answer his interrogatories because of their springing at 
all from that set of resolutions which he read. I answered 
them because Judge Douglas thought fit to ask them. I 
do not now, nor never did, recognize any responsibility 
upon myself in that set of resolutions. When I replied 
to him on that occasion, I assured him that I never had 
anything to do with them. I repeat here to-day, that I 
never, in any possible form, had anything to do with that 
set of resolutions. It turns out, I believe, that those res- 
olutions were never passed in any convention held in 
Springfield. It turns out that they were never passed at 
any convention or any public meeting that I had any part 
in. I believe it turns out, in addition to all this, that 
there was not, in the fall of 1854, any convention holding 
a session in Springfield, calHng itself a Kepublicau State 
Convention, yet it is true there was a convention, or 
assemblage of men calling themselves a convention, at 
Springfield, that did pass some resolutions. But so little 
did I really know of the proceedings of that convention, 
or what set of resolutions they had passed, though having 
a general knowledge that there had been such an assem- 
blage of men there, that when Judge Douglas read the 
resolutions, I really did not know but they had been the 
resolutions passed then and there. I did not question 
that they were the resolutions adopted. For I could not 
bring myself to suppose that Judge Douglas could say 
what he did upon this subject without knowing that it was 
true. I contented myself, on that occasion, with denying, 
as I truly could, all connection with them, not denying 
or afiirming whether they were passed at Springfield. 
Now, it turns out, that he had got hold of some resolutions 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 59 

passed at some convention or public meeting in Kane 
county. I wish to say here, that I don't conceive 
that, in any fair and just mind, this discovery reheves me 
at all. I had just as much to do with the convention in 
Kane county as that at Springfield. I am just as much 
responsible for the resolutions at Kane county as those at 
Springfield, — the amount of the responsibility being exactly 
nothing in either case, — no more than there would be in 
regard to a set of resolutions passed in the moon. 

"I allude to this extraordinary matter in this canvass 
for some further purpose than anthing yet advanced. 
Judge Douglas did not make his statement upon that occa- 
sion as matters that he believed to be true, but he stated 
them roundly as being true, in such form as to pledge his 
veracity for their truth. When the whole matter turns 
out as it does, and when we consider who Judge Douglas 
is — that he is a distinguished Senator of the United States — 
that he has served nearly twelve years as such, that 
his character is not at all limited as an ordinary Senator 
of the United States, but that his name has become of 
world-wide renown, it is most extraordinary that he should 
so far forget all the suggestions of justice to an adversary, 
or of prudence to himself, as to venture upon the asser- 
tion of that which the slightest investigation would have 
shown him to be wholly false. I can only account for his 
having done so, upon the supposition that that evil genius 
which has attended him through his life, giving to him 
an apparent astounding prosperity, such as to lead very 
many good men to doubt there being any advantage in 
virtue over vice, — I say I can only account for it on the 
supposition that that evil genius has at last made up its 
mind to forsake him. 

"And I may add, that another extraordinary feature of 
the Judge's conduct in this canvass — made more extraor- 
dinary by this incident — is, that he is in the habit, in 
almost all the speeches he makes, of charging falsehood 
upon his adversaries, myself and others. I now ask 
whether he is able to find in anything that Judge Trumbull, 
for instance, has said, or in anything that I have said, 
a justification at all compared with what we have, in this 
instance, shown him capable of, for that sort of vulgarity. 

"I have been in the habit of charging, as a matter of 
belief on my part, that, in the introduction of the Ne- 
braska bill into Congress, there was a conspiracy to make 
slavery perpetual and National. I have arranged, from 
time to time, the evidence which establishes and proves 



60 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the truth of tins charge. I recurred to this charge at 
Ottawa. I shall not now have time to dwell upon it at 
any very great length ; but, inasmuch as Judge Douglas, 
in his reply of half an hour, made some points upon me 
in relation to it, I propose noticing a few of them. The 
Judge insists that in the first speech I made, in which I 
very distinctly made that charge, he thought for a good 
while I was in fun ! — that I was playful— that I was not 
sincere about it — and that he only grew angry and some- 
what excited when he found that I insisted upon it as a 
matter of earnestness. He says he characterized it as a 
falsehood as far as I implicated his moral character in that 
transaction. Well, I did not know, till he presented that 
view, that I had implicated his moral character. He is 
very much in the iiabit, when he argues me up into a 
position I never thought of occupying, of very cursorily say- 
ing he has no doubt Lincoln is 'conscientious' in saying 
so. He should remember that I did not know but what 
he was altogether 'conscientious' in the matter. I can 
conceive it possible for men to conspire to do a good 
thing, and I really find nothing in Judge Douglas' course 
or arguments that is contrary to or inconsistent with his 
belief of a conspiracy to nationalize and spread slavery 
as being a good and blessed thing, and so I hope he will 
understand that I do not at all question but that in all 
this matter he is entirely 'conscientious.' 

"But to draw your attention to one of the points I 
made in this case, beginning at the beginning period when 
the Nebraska bill was introduced, or a short time after- 
ward, by an amendment, I believe, it was provided that 
it must be considered 'the true intent and meaning of 
this act not to legislate slavery into any State or Terri- 
tory, or to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people 
thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their own 
domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the 
Constitution of the United States.' I have called his 
attention to the fact that when he and some others began 
arguing that they were favoring an increased degree of 
liberty to the people in the Territories over and above 
what they formerly had on the question of slavery, a ques- 
tion was raised whether the law was enacted to give such 
unconditional liberty to the people, and to test the sin- 
cerity of this mode of argument, Mr. Chase, of Ohio, 
introduced an amendment, in which he made the law — if 
the amendment was adopted — expressly declare that the 
people of the Territory should have the power to exclude 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 61 

slavery if they saw fit. I have asked attention, also, to 
the fact that Judge Douglas, and those who acted with 
him, voted that amendment down, notvvitiistandnig it 
expressed exactly the thing they said was the true intent 
and meaning of the law. I have called attention to the 
fact that in subsequent times, a decision of the Supreme 
Court has been made, in which it has been declared that 
a Territorial Legislature has no constitutional right to 
exclude slavery. And I have argued and said that to 
men who did intend that the people of the Territory 
should have the right to exclude slavery absolutely «nd 
unconditionally, the voting down of Chase's amendment 
is wholly inexplicable; it is a puzzle — a riddle. But I 
have said that with men who did not look forward to such 
a decibion, or vho had it in contemplation that such a 
decision of the Supreme Court would or might be m;ide, 
the voting down of that amendment W'ould be perfectly 
rational and intelligible. It would keep Congress from 
coming in collision with the decision when it was made. 
Anybody can conceive that if there was an intention or 
expectation that such a decision was to follow, it would 
be a very undesirable party attitude to get into, for the 
Supreme Court — all, or nearly all, its members belong- 
ing to the same party — to decide one way, when the party 
in Congress had decided the other way. Hence i: would 
be very rational for men expecting such a decision, to 
keep the niche in that law clear for it. After pointing 
this out, I tell Judge Douglas that it looks to me as 
though here was the reason why Chase's amendment was 
voted down. I tell him that as he did it, and knows why 
he did it, if it was done for a reason different from this, 
he knows ivhat that reason tvas, and can tell vs what it was. 
I tell him, also, it will be vastly more satisfactory to the 
country for him to give some other plausible, intelligible 
reason why it was voted down, Ihan to stand upon h:s 
dignity and call people liars. Well, on Saturday he did 
make his answer, and what do you think it was? He 
says if I had only taken upon myself to tell the whole 
truth about that amendment of Chase's, no explanation 
Would have been necessary on his part -or words to that 
effect. Now, I say here, that I am quite unconscious of 
having suppressed anything material to the case, and I am 
very frank to admit if there is any sound reason other 
than that which appeared to me material, it is quite fair 
for him to present it. What reason does he propose? 
That when Chase came forward with his amendment 



62 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

expressly authorizing the people to exclude slavery from 
the limits of every Territory, (ren. Cass proposed to Chase, 
if he (Chase) would add to this amendment that the peo- 
ple should have the power to introduce or exclude, they 
would let it go. This is substantially all of his reply. 
And because Chase would not do that, they voted his 
amendment down. Well, it turns out, I believe, upon 
examination, that Gen. Cass took some part in the little 
running debate upon that amendment, and then ran away 
and did not vote on it at all. Is not that the fact? So 
confident, as I think, was Gen. Cass that there was a 
snake somewhere about, he chose to run away from the 
whole thing. This is an inference I draw from the fact 
that, though he took part in the debate, his name does 
not appear in the ayes and noes. But does Judge Doug- 
las' reply amount to a satisfactory answer? (Cries of 
"yes!" "yes!" and "no!" "no!") There is some Ht- 
tle difference of opinion here. But I ask attention to a 
few more views bearing on the question of whether it 
amounts to a satisfactory answer. The men who were 
determined that that amendment should not get into the 
bill and spoil the place where the Dred Scott decision 
was to come in, sought an excuse to get rid of it some- 
where. One of these ways — one of these excuses — was to 
ask Chase to add to his proposed amendment a provision 
that the people might introduce slavery if they wanted to. 
They very well knew Chase would do no such thing — that 
Mr. Chase was one of the men differing from them on 
the broad principle of his insisting that freedom was bet- 
ter than slavery, — a man who would not consent to enact 
a law, penned with his own hand, by which he was made to 
recognize slavery on the one hand and liberty on the 
other, as precisely equal; and when they insisted on his 
doing this they very well knew they insisted on that 
which he would not for a moment think of doing, and 
that they were only bluffing him. I believe (I have not, 
since he made his answer, had a chance to examine the 
journals or Congressional Globe, and therefore speak from 
memory) — I believe the state of the bill at that time, 
according to parliamentary rules, was such that no mem- 
ber could propose an additional amendment to Chase's 
amendment. I rather think this is the truth — the Judge 
shakes his head. Very well. I would like to know, then, 
if they wanted Chase's amendment fixed over, why somebody 
else could not have offered to do it? If they wanted it 
amended, why did they not offer the amendment? Why 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 63 

did they stand there taunting and quibbhng at Chase? 
"Why did they not put it in tlicmselves / i>ut to put it on 
the other ground : suppose that there was such an amend- 
ment otiered, and Chase's was an amendment to an 
amendment ; until one is disposed of by parhamentary 
law you can not pile another on. Then all these gentle- 
men had to do was to vote Chase's on, and then in the 
amended form in which the whole stood add their own 
amendment to it, if they wanted to put it in that shape. 
This was all they were obliged to do, and the ayes and 
noes show that there were thirty- six who voted it down, 
against ten who voted in favor of it. The thirty-six held 
entire sway and control. They could, in some form or 
other, have put that bill in the exact shape they wanted. 
If there was a rule preventing their amending it at the 
time, they could pass that, and then, Chase's amendment 
being merged, put it in the shape they wanted. They 
did not choose to do so, but they went into a quibble 
with Chase to get him to add what they knew he would 
not add, and because he would not, they stood upon that 
flimsy pretext for voting down what they argued was the 
meaning and intent of their own bill. They left room 
thereby for this Dred Scott decision, which goes very far 
to make slavery national throughout the United States. 
"I pass one or two points I have because my time will 
very soon expire, but I must be allowed to say that Judge 
Douglas recurs again, as he did upon one or two otJier 
occasions, to the enormity of Lincoln — an insignificant indi- 
vidual like Lincoln — upon his ipse dixit charging a con- 
spiracy upon a large number of members of Congress, the 
Supreme Court and two Presidents, to nationalize slavery ! 
I want to say that, in the first place, I have made no 
charge of this sort upon my ipse dixit. I have only 
arrayed the evidence tending to prove it, and presented 
it to the understanding of others, saying what 1 think it 
proves, but giving you the means of judging whether it 
proves it or not. This is precisely what 1 have done. I 
have not placed it upon my ipse dixit at ail. On this 
occasion, I wish to recall his attention to a piece of evi- 
dence which I brought forward at Ottawa on Siiturday, 
showing that he made substantially the same charge 
against substantially the same persons, excluding his dear 
self from the category. I ask him to give some attention 
to the evidence which I brought forward, that he himi-:elf 
had discovered a 'fatal blow being struck' against the 
right of the people to exclude slavery from their limits, 



64 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS 

which fatal blow he assumed as evidence in an article in 
the Washington Union, published ' by authority.' I ask 
by whose authority ? He discovered a similar or identical 
provision in the Lecompton conptiiutiou. Made by whom ? 
The Iramers of that constitution. Advocated by whom ? 
By all the members of the party in the Nation, who 
advocated the introduction of Kansas into the Union 
under the Lecompton constitution. 

" I have asked his attention to the evidence that he 
arrayed to prove that such a fatal blow was being struck, 
and to the facts which he brought forward in support of 
that charge — being identical with the one which he thinks 
so villainous in me. He pointed it not at a newspaper 
editor merely, but at the President and his Cabinet and 
the members of Congress advocating the Lecompton con- 
stitution and those framing that instrument. I must 
again be permitted to remind him, that although my ipse 
dixit may not be as great as his, yet it somewhat reduces 
the force of his calling my attention to the enormity of 
my making a like charge against him. 

"Go on, Judge Douglas." 

MR. DOUGLAS' SPEECH. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen: The silence with which you 
have listened to Mr. Lincoln during his hour is creditable 
to this vast audience, composed of men of various po- 
litical parties. Nothing is more honorable to any large 
mass of people assembled for the purpose of a fair discus- 
sion, than that kind and respectful attention that is 
yielded not only to your political friends, but to those 
who are opposed to you in politics. 

"I am glad that at last I have brought Mr. Lincoln 
to the conclusion that he had better define his position 
on certain political questions to which I called his atten- 
tion at Ottawa. He there showed no disposition, no in- 
clination to answer them. I did not present idle questions 
for him to answer merely for my gratification. I laid the 
foundation for those interrogatories by showing that they 
constituted the platform of the party whose nominee he 
is for the Senate. I did not presume that I had the 
right to catechise him as I saw proper, unless I showed 
that his party, or a majority of it, stood upon the plat- 
foim, and were in favor of the propositions upon which 
my questions were based. I desired simply to know, in- 
asmuch as he had been nominated as the first, last and 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 65 

only choice of his party, whether he concurred in the 
platfoim which that party had adopted for its govern- 
ment. In a few moments I will proceed to review the 
answers which he has given to these interrogatories; but 
in order to relieve his anxiety, I will first respond to these 
which he has presented to me. Mark you, he has not 
presenled interrogatories which have ever received the 
sanction of the party with which I am acting, and hence 
he has no other foundation for them than his own curiosity. 

"First, he desires to know if the people of Kansas shall 
form a constitution by means entirely proper and unob- 
jectionable and ask admission into the Union as a State, 
before they have the requisite population for a member 
of Congress, whether I will vote for that admission. Well, 
now, I regret exceedingly that he did not answer that inter- 
rogatory himself before he put it to me, in order that we 
might understand, and not be left to infer, on which side 
he is. Mr. Trumbull, during the last session of Congress, 
vo'ed from the beginning to the end against the admission 
of Oregon, although a free State, because she had not the 
requisite population for a member of Coiigress. Mr. Trum- 
bull would not consent, under any circumstances, to let 
a State, free or slave, come into the Union until it had 
the requisite population. As Mr. Trumbull is in the field, 
fighting for Mr. Lincoln, I would like to have Mr. Lincoln 
answer his own question and tell me whether he is fight- 
ing Trumbull on that issue or not. But I will answer his 
question. In reference to Kansas, it is my opinion, that 
as she has population enough to constitute a slave State, 
she has population enough for a free State. I will not 
make Kansas an exceptional case to the other States of 
the Union. I hold it to be a sound rule of universal appli- 
cation to require a Territory to contain the requisite pop- 
ulation for a member of Congress, before it is admitted 
as a State into the Union. I made that proposition in the 
Senate in 1816, and I renewed it during the last session, 
in a bill providing that no Territory of the United States 
should form a constitution and apply for admission until 
it had the requisite population. On another occasion I 
proposed that neither Kansas, or any other Territory, should 
be admitted until it had the requisite population. Con- 
gress did not adopt any of my propositions containing 
this general rule, but did make an exception of Kansas. 
I will stand by that exception. Either Kansas must come 
in as a free State, with whatever population she may have, 
— 5 



66 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

or the rule must be applied to all the other Territories 
alike. I therefore answer at once, that it having been 
decided that Kansas has population enough for a slave 
State, I hold that she has enough for a free State. I 
hope Mr. Lincoln is satisfied with my answer ; and now 
I would like to get his answer to his own interrogatory — 
whether or not he will vote to admit Kansas before she 
has the requisite population. I want to know whether he 
will vote to admit Oregon before that Territory has the 
requisite population. Mr. Trumbull will not, and the same 
reason that commits Mr. Trumbull against the admission 
of Oregon, commits him against Kansas, even if she should 
apply for admission as a free State. If there is any sin- 
cerity, any truth, in the argument of Mr. Trumbull in the 
Senate, against the admission of Oregon because she had 
not 93,420 people, although her population was larger 
than that of Kansas, he stands pledged against the admis- 
sion of both Oregon and Kansas until they have £3,420 
inhabitants. I would like Mr. Lincoln to answer this ques- 
tion. I would like him to take his own medicine. If he 
differs with Mr. Trumbull, let him answer his argument 
against the admission of Oregon, instead of poking ques- 
tions at me. 

" The next question propounded to me by Mr. Lincoln 
is, can the people of a Territory, in any lawful way, against 
the wishes of any citizen of the United States, exclude 
slavery from their limits prior to the formation. of a State 
constitution? I answer emphatically, as Mr. Lincoln has 
heard me answer a hundred times from every stump in 
Illinois, that, in my opinion, the people of a Territory can, 
by lawful means, exclude, slavery from their limits prior 
to the formation of a State constitution. Mr. Lincoln 
knew that I had answered that question over and over 
again. He heard me argue the Nebraska bill on that 
principle all over the State in 1854, in 1855, and in 1856, 
and he has no excuse for pretending to be in doubt as to 
my position on that question. It matters not what way 
the Supreme Court may hereafter decide as to the abstract 
question whether slavery may or may not go into a Ter- 
ritory under the constitution, the people have the lawful 
means to introduce it or exclude it, as they please, for the 
reason that slavery can not exist a day, or an hour, any- 
where, unless it is supported by local police regulations. 
Those police regulations can only be established by the 
local legislature, and if the people are opposed to slavery 
they will elect representatives to that body who will, by 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 67 

unfriendly legislation effectually prevent the introduction 
of it into then- midst. If, on the contrary, they are for 
it, their legislation will favor its extension. Hence, no 
matter what the decision of the Supreme Court may be 
on that abstract question, still the righs of the people to 
make a slave Territory or a free Territory is perfect and 
complete under the Nebraska bill. I hope Mr. Lincoln 
deems my answer satisfactory on that point. 

" In this connection, I will notice the charge which he 
has introduced in relation to Mr. Chase's amendment. I 
thought I had chased that amendment out of Mr. Lin- 
coln's brain at Ottawa; but it seeius that still haunts his 
imagination, and he is not yet satisiied. I had supposed 
that he v/oiild be ashamed to press that question further. 
He is a lawyer, and has been a member of Congress, and 
has occupied his time and amused you by telling you 
about parliamentary proceedings. He ought to have kuown 
better than to try to palm off his miserable impositions 
upon this intelligent audience. The Nebraska bill provided 
tha-. the legislative power and authority of the said Terri- 
tory should extend to all rightful subjects of legislation 
consistent with the organic act and the Constitution of 
the United States. It did not make any exceptioa as to 
slavery, but gave all the power that it was possible for 
Congress to give, without violating the Constitution, to the 
Territorial Legislature, with no exception or limitation on 
the subject of slavery at all. The language of that bill, 
which I have quoted, gave the full power and the full 
authority over the subject of slavery, affirmatively and 
negatively, to introduce it or exclude it, so far as the Con- 
stitution of the United States would permit. What more 
could Mr. Chase give by his amendment? Nothing. He 
offered his amendment for the identical purpose for which 
Mr. Lincoln is using it — to enable demagogues in the 
country to try and deceive the people. 

"His amendment was to this effect: It provided that 
the Legislature should have the power to exclude slavery ; 
and Gen. Cass suggested, 'Why not give the power to 
introduce as well as exclude?' The answer was, they have 
the power already in the bill to do both. Chase was afraid 
his amendment would be adopted if he put the alterna- 
tive proposition and so make it fair both ways, but would 
not yield._ He offered it for the purpose of having it re- 
jected. He offered it, as he has himself avowed over and 
over again, simply to make capital out of it for the stump. 
He expected that it w^ould be capital for small politicians 



68 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

in the country, and that they would make an effort to 
deceive the people with it, and he was not mistaken, for 
Lincoln is carrying out the plan admirably. Lincoln 
knows that the Nebraska bill, without Chase's amend- 
ment, gave all the power which the Constitution would 
permit. Could Congress confer any more? Could Con- 
gress go beyond the Constitution of the country? We 
gave all a full grant, with no exception in regard to 
slavery one way or the other. We left that question as 
we left all others, to be decided by the people for them- 
selves, just as they pleased. I will not occupy my time 
on this question. I have argued it before all over Illi- 
nois. I have argued it in th s beautiful city of Freeport ; 
I have argued it in the North, the South, the Eust, and 
the West, avowing the same sentiments and the same 
principles. I have not been afraid to avow my sentiments 
up here for fear I would be trotted down into Egypt. 

" The third question which Mr. Lincoln presented is, 
if the Supreme Court of the United States shall decide 
that a State of this Union cannot exclude slavery from 
its own limits, will I submit to it? I am amazed that 
Lincoln should ask such a question. ('A school-boy knows 
better.') Yes, a school-boy does know better. Mr. Lin- 
coln's object is to cast an imputation upon the Supreme 
Caurt. He knows that there never was but one man in 
America claiming any degree of intelligence or decency, 
who ever for a moment pretended such a thing. It is 
true that the Washington Union, in an article published 
on the 17th of last December, did put forth that doctrine, 
and I denounced the article on the floor of the Senate, 
in a speech which Mr. Lincoln now pretends was agiinst 
the President. The Union had claimed that slavery had 
a right to go into the free States, and that any provision 
in the Constitution or laws of the free States to the con- 
trary were null and void. I denounced it in the Senate, 
as I said before, and I was the first man who did. Lin- 
coln's friends, Trumbull, and Seward, and Hale, and Wil- 
son, and the whole Black Kepub ican side of the Senate, 
were silent. Tbey left it to me to denounce it, and what was 
the reply made to me on that occasion? Mr. Toombs, 
of Georgia, got up and undertook to lecture me on the 
ground that I ought not to hive deemed the article worthy 
of notice, and ought not to h;ive replied to it ; that there 
was not one mm, womm or child south of the Potomac, 
in any slave State, who did not repudiate any such pre- 
tension. Mr. Lincoln knows that that reply was made 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 69 

on the spot, and yet now he asks this question. He 
might as well ask me, suppose Mr. Lincoln should steal 
a horse, would I sanction it ; and it would be as genteel 
in me to ask him, in the event he stole a horse, what 
ought to be done with him. He casts an imputation upon 
the Supreme Court of the United States, by supposing 
that they would violate the Constitution of the United 
States. I tell him that such a thing is not possible. It 
would be an act of moral treason that no man on the 
bench could ever descend to. Mr. Lincoln himself would 
never, in his partisan feelings, so far forget what was 
right as to be guilty of such an act. The fourth question 
of Mr. Lincoln is, are you in favor of acquiring additional 
territory, in disregard as to how such acquisition may 
affect the Union on the slavery question? This question 
is very ingeniously and cunningly put. 

" The Black Republican creed lays it down expressly, 
that under no circumstances shall we acquire any more 
territory unless slavery is first prohibited in the country. 
I ask Mr. Lincoln whether he is in favor of that propo- 
sition. Are you (addressing Mr. Lincoln) opposed to the 
acquisition of any more territory, under any cn-cumstances, 
unless slavery is prohibited in it? That he does not like 
to answer. When I ask him whether he stands up to that 
article in the platform of his party, he turns, Yankee 
fashion, and without answering it, asks me whether I am 
in favor of acquiring territory without regard to how it 
may affect the Union on the slavery question. I answer, 
thit whenever it becomes necessary, in our growth and 
progress, to acquire more territory, that I am in favor of 
it, without reference to the question of slavery, and when 
we have acquired it I will leave the people free to do as 
they please, either to make it slave or free territory, as 
they prefer. It is idle to tell me or you that we have 
territory enough. Our fathers supposed that we had enough 
when our territory extended to the Mississippi river, but 
a few years' growth and expansion satisfied them that we 
needed more, and the Louisiana territory, from the west 
branch of the Mississippi to the British possessions, was 
acquired. Then we acquired Oregon, then California and 
New Mexico. We have enough now for the present, but 
this is a young and growing Nation. It swarms as often 
as a hive of bees, and as new swarms are turned out 
each year, there must be hives in which they can gather 
and make their honey. In less than fifteen years, if the 
same progress that has distinguished this country for the 



70 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

last fifteen years continues, every foot of vacant land be- 
tween this and the Pacific ocean, owned by the United 
States, will be occupied. Will you not continue to increase 
at the end of fifteen years as well as now? I tell you, 
increase, and multiply, and expand, is the law of this 
Nation's existence. You cannot limit this great Eepublic 
by mere boundary lines, saying, 'thus far shalt thou go 
and no farther.' Any one of you gentlemen might as well 
say to a son twelve years old that he is big enough, and 
must not grow any larger, and in order to prevent his 
growth put a hoop ii round him to keep him to his present 
size. What would be tlie result? Either the hoop must 
burst and be rent asunder, or the child must die. So it 
would be with this great Nation. With our natural in- 
crease, growing with a rapidity unknown in any other part 
of the globe, with the tide of emigration that is fieeing 
from despotism in the old world to seek refuge in our own, 
there is a constant torrent pouring into this country that 
requires more land, more territory upon which to settle, 
and just as fast as our interests and our destiny require 
additional territory in the North, in the South, or on the 
islands of the ocean, I am for it; and when we acquire 
it, will leave the people, according to the Nebraska bill, 
free to do as they please on the subject of slavery and 
every other question. 

" I trust now that Mr. Lincoln Vvill deem himself 
answered on his four points. He racked his brain so much 
in devising these four questions that he exhausted him- 
self, and had not strength enough to invent others. As 
soon as he is able to hold a counsel with his advisers — 
Lovejoy, Farnsworth, and Fred. Douglass, he will frame 
and propound others. ('Good, good.') You Black Ee- 
publicans who say good, I have no doubt think that they 
are all good men. I have reason to recollect that some 
people in this country think that Fred. Douglass is a very 
good man. The last time I came here to make a speech, 
while talking from the stand to you people of Freeport, 
as I am doing to-day, I saw a carriage, and a magnifi- 
cent one it was, drive up and take a position on the out- 
side of the crowd, a beautiful young lady was sitting on 
the box-seat, whilst Fred. Douglass and the lady's mother 
reclined mside, and the owner of the carriage acted as 
driver. I saw this in your own town. ('What of it?') 
All I have to say of it is this, that if you Black Repub- 
licans think that the negro ought to be on a social 
equality with your wives and daughters, and ride in a 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 71 

-carriage with your wife whilst you drive the team, you 
have a perfect right to do so. I am told that one of 
Fred. Douglass' kinsmen, another rich black negro, is now- 
traveling ni this part of the State making speeclies for his 
friend Lincoln as the champion of the black men. 
("What have you to say against it?') All I have to say 
on that subject is, that those of you who believe that the 
negro is your equal and ought to be on an equality with 
you socially, politically and legally, have a right to enter- 
tain those opinions, and, of coarse, will vote for Mr. 
Lincoln. 

"I have a word to say on Mr, Lincoln's answer to the 
interrogatories contained in my speech at Ottawa, and 
which he has pretended to reply to here to-day. Mr. 
Lincoln makes a great parade of the fact that I quoted 
a platform as having been adopted by the Black Repub- 
lican party at Springfield, in 185-4, which, it turns out, 
was adopted at another place. Mr. Lincoln loses sight 
of the thing itself in his ecstacies over the mistake I made 
in stating the place where it was done. He thinks that 
that platform was not adopted on the right 'spot.' 

"When I put the direct question to Mr. Lincoln, to 
ascertain whether he now stands pledged to that creed — 
to the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law, a 
refusal to admit any more slave States into the Union, 
•even if the people want them, a determination to apply 
the Wilmot Proviso, not only to all the territory we now 
have, but all that we may hereafter acquire — he refused 
to answer, and his followers say, in excuse, that the reso- 
lutions upon which I based my interrogatories were not 
adopted at the 'right sjwt.' Lincoln and his political 
friends are great on 'spots.' In Congress, as a represent- 
ative of this State, he declared the Mexican ^yar to be 
unjust and infamous, and would not support it, or ac- 
knowledge his own country to be right in the contest, 
because, he said, that American blood was not shed on 
American soil in the 'rigJit spot.'' And now he cannot 
answer the questions I put to him at Ottawa because the 
resolutions 1 read were not adopted at the 'right spot.' 
It may be possible that I was led into an error as to the 
siwt on which the resolutions I then read were proclaimed, 
l)ut I was not and am not in error as to the fact of their 
forming the basis of the creed of the Republican party, 
when that party was first organized. I will state to you 
ihe evidence I had, and upon which I relied for my stMte- 
ment that the resolutions in question were adopted at 



72 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Springfield, on the 5th of October, 1854. Although I was 
aware that such resolutions had been passed in this dis- 
trict, and nearly all the northern Congressional districts, 
and county conventions, I had not noticed whether or 
not they had been adopted by any State convention. In 
1856, a debate arose in Congress between Major Thomas 
L. Harris, of the Springfield district, and Mr. Norton, of 
the Joliet district, on political matters connected with our 
State, in the course of which Major Harris quoted those 
resolutions as having been passed by the first Eepublican 
State Convention that ever assembled in Illinois. I knew 
that Major Harris was remarkable for his accuracy, that 
he was a very conscientious and sincere man, and I also 
noticed that Norton did not question the accuracy of this 
statement. I therefore took it for granted that it was so, 
and the other day, when I concluded to use the resolu- 
tions at Ottawa, I wrote to Charles H. Lanphier, editor 
of the State Register, at Springfield, calling his attention 
to them, telling him that I had been informed that Ma- 
jor Harris was lying sick at Springfield, and desiring him 
to call upon him and ascertain ail the facts concerning 
the resolutions, the time and the place where they were 
adopted. In reply, Mr. Lanphier sent to me two copies 
of his paper, which I have Jiere. The first is a copy of 
the State Register, published at Springfield, Mr. Lincoln's 
own town, on the 16th of October, 1854, only eleven days 
after the adjournment of the convention, from which I 
desire to read the following : 

" 'During the late discussions in this city, Lincoln made 
a speech, to which Judge Douglas replied. In Lincoln's 
speech he took the broad ground that, according to the 
Declaration of Independence, the whites and blacks are 
equal. From this he drew the conclusion, which he 
several times repeated, that the white man had no right 
to pass laws for the government of the black man with- 
out the nigger's consent. This speech of Lincoln's was. 
heard and applauded by all the Abolitionists assembled 
in Springfield. So soon as Mr. Lincoln was done speak- 
ing, Mr. Codding arose, and requested all the delegates to 
the Black Eepublican Convention to withdraw into the 
Senate chamber. They did so, and after long delibera- 
tion, they laid down the following Abolition platform as 
the platform on which they stood. We call the attention 
of all our readers to it.' 

"Then follows the identical platform, word for word, 
which I read at Ottawa. Now, that was published in Mr. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 73 

Lincoln's own town, eleven days after the convention was 
held, and it has remained on record up to this day, never 
contradicted. 

"When I quoted the resolutions at Ottawa, and ques- 
tioned Mr. Lnicoln in relation to them, he said that his 
name was on the committee that reported them, but he 
did not serve, nor did he think he served, because he was, 
or thought he was, in Tazeweil county at the time the 
convention was in session. He did not deny that the res- 
olutions were passed by the Springfield convention. He 
did not know better, and, evidently, thought they were, 
but afterwards his friends declared that they had discov- 
ered that they varied in some respects from the resolutions 
passed by that convention. I have shown you that I had 
good evidence for believing that the resolutions had been 
passed at Springfield. Mr. Lincoln ought to have known 
better ; but not a word is said about his ignorance on the 
subject, whilst I, notwithstanding the circumstances, am 
accused of forgery. 

"Now, I will show you that if I had made a mistake as 
to the place where these resolutions were adopted— and 
when I get down to Springfield I will investigate the mat- 
ter and see whether or not I have — that the principles 
they enunciate were adopted as to the Black Eepublican 
platform ('white, white,') in the various counties and con- 
gressional districts throughout the north end of the State, 
in 1854. This platform was adopted in nearly every county 
that gave a Black Bepublican majority for the Legislature 
in that year, and here is a man (pointing to Mr. Denio, 
who sat on the stand near Deacon Bross) who knows as 
well as any living man that it was the creed of the Black 
Eepublican party at that time. I would be willing to call 
Denio as a witness, or any other honest man belonging 
to that party. I will now read the resolutions adopted at 
the Bockford convention on the 30th of August, 1854, 
which nominated Washburne, for Congress. You elected 
him on the following platform : 

"'Resolved, That the continued and increasing aggressions 
of slavery in our country are destructive of the best rights 
of a free people, and that such aggressions cannot be 
Buccessfully resisted without the united political action of 
all good men. 

'''Resolved, That the citizens of the United States hold 
within their hands peaceful, constitutional and efficient 
remedies against the encroachment of the slave power, the 



74 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

ballot-box, and, if tbat remedy is boldly and wisely ap- 
plied, the principles of liberty and eternal justice will be 
established. 

"'Resolved, That we accept this issue forced upon us by 
the slave power, and in defense of freedom- will co-operate 
and be known as Eepublicans, pledged to the accomplish- 
ment of the following purposes : 

"'To bring the administration of the government back to 
the control of first principles ; to restore Kansas and Ne- 
braska to the position of free Territories ; to repeal and 
entirely abrogate the Fugitive Slave Law; to restrict sla- 
very to those States in which it exists ; to prohibit the 
admission of any more slave States into the Union ; to 
exclude slavery from all the Territories over which the 
(leneral Government has exclusive jurisdiction, and to 
resist the acquisition of any more Territories, unless the 
introduction of slavery therein forever shall have been 
prohibited, 

"'Resolved, That in the furtherance of these principles 
we will use such constitutional and lawful means as shall 
seem best to their accomplishment, and that we will sup- 
port no man for office under the general or State govern- 
ment who is not positively committed to the support of 
these principles, and whose personal character and conduct 
is not a guaranty that he is reliable, and shall abjure all 
party allegiance and ties. 

" 'Resolved, That we cordially invite persons of all 
former political parties, whatever, in favor of the object 
expressed in the above resolutions, to unite with us in 
carrying them into effect.' 

"Well, you think that is a very good platform, do you 
not ? If you do, if you approve it now, and think it is all 
right, you will not join with those men who say that I 
libel you by calling these your principles, will you? Now, 
Mr. Lincoln complains ; Mr. Lincoln charges that I did 
you and him injustice by saying that this was the plat- 
form of your party. I am told that Mr. Washburne made 
a speech in Galena last night, in which he abused me 
awfully for bringing to light this platform, on which he 
was elected to Congress. He thought that you had for- 
gotten it, as he and Mr. Lincoln desires to. He did not 
deny but that you had adopted it, and that he had sub- 
scribed to and was pledged by it, but he did not think it 
was fair to call it up and remind the people that it was 
their platform. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 75 

"But I am glad to find that you are more honest in 
your Abolitionism than your leaders, by avowing that it 
is your platform, and ri;j;ht in your opinion. 

"In the adoption of that platform, you not only declare 
that you would resist the admission of any more slave 
States, and work for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, 
but you pledged yourselves not to vote for any man for State 
or Federal otiices who was not committed to these princi- 
ples. You were thus committed. Similar resolutions to 
those were adopted in your county convention here, and 
now with your admissions that they are your platform 
and embody your sentiments now as they did then, what 
do you think of Mr. Lincoln, your candidate for the United 
States Senate, who is attempting to dodge the responsi- 
bility of this platform because it was not adopted in the 
right spot. I thought it was adopted in Springlield, but 
it turns out it w^as not, that it was adopted at Kockford, 
and in the various counties which comprised this Congres- 
sional district. When I get into the next district I will 
show that the same platform was adopted there, and so 
on through the State, until I nail the responsibility of it 
upon the back of the Black Eepublican party throughout 
the State. 

"A voice — 'Couldn't you modify and call it brown?' 

Mr. Douglas — "Not a bit. I thought that you were be- 
coming a little brown when your members in Congress 
voted for the Crittenden-Montgomery bill, but since you 
have backed out from that position and gone back to 
abolitionism, you are black and not broAvn. 

"Gentlemen, I have shown you what your platform was 
in 1854. You still adhere to it. The same platform was 
adopted by nearly all the counties where the 131ack Eepub- 
lican party had -a majority in 1854. I wish now to call 
your attention to the action of your Eepresentatives in 
the Legislature, w^hen they assembled together at Spring- 
field. In the first place, you must remember that this 
was the organization of a new party. It is so declared in 
the resolutions themselves, which say that you are going 
to dissolve all old party ties, and call the new party Ee- 
publican. The old Whig party was to have its throat cut 
from ear to ear, and the Democratic party was to be anni- 
hilated and blotted out of existence, while in lieu of these 
parties the Black Eepublican ]3arty was to be organized 
on this Abolition platform. You know who the chief leaders 
were in breaking up and destroying these two great par- 
ties. Lincoln on the one hand, and Trumbull on the 



76 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

other, being disappointed politicians, and having retired 
or been driven to obscurity by an outraged constituency, 
because of their political sins, formed a scheme to abo- 
litionize the two parties, and lead the old hue Whigs and 
old line Demo.u^ats captive, bound hand and foot, into the 
Abolition camp. Giddings, Chase, Fred. Douglass and Love- 
joy were here to christen them whenever they were brought 
in. Lincoln went to work to dissolve the old line Whig 
party. Clay was dead, and although the sod was not yet 
green on his grave, this man undertook to bring into dis- 
repute those great compromise measures of 185(J, with which 
Clay and Webster were identified. Up to 1851, the old 
Whig party and the Democratic party had stood on a 
common platform, so far as this slavery question was con- 
cerned. You Whigs and we Democrats differed about the 
bank, the tariff distribution, the specie circular and the 
subtreasury, but we agreed on this slavery question, and 
the true mode of preserving the peace and harmony of the 
Union. The compromise measures of 185U were intro- 
duced by Clay, were defended by Webster, and supported 
by Cass, and were approved by Fillmore, and sanctioned 
by the National men of both parties. They constituted a 
common plank upon which both Whigs and Democrats 
stood. In 1852, the Whig party, in its last National Con- 
vention at Baltimore, endorsed and approved these meas- 
ures of Clay, and so did the National Convention of the 
Democratic party, held that same year. Thus, the old 
line Whigs and the old line Democrats stood pledged to 
the great principle of self-government, which guarantees 
to the people of each Territory the right to decide the 
slavery question for themselves. In 1854, after the death 
of Clay and Webster, Mr. Lincoln, on the part of the 
Whigs, undertook to abolitionize the Whig party, by dis- 
solving it, transferring the members into the Abolition 
camp, and making them train under Giddings, Fred. 
Douglass, Lovejoy, Chase, Farnsworth and other Abo ition 
leaders. Trumbull undertook to dissolve the Democratic 
party by taking them into the Abolition camp. Mr. Lin- 
coln was aided in his efforts by many leading Whigs 
throughout the State. Your member of Congress, Mr. 
Washburne, being one of the most active. Trumbull was 
aided by many renegades from the Democratic party, 
among whom were John Wentworth, Tom Turner, and 
others, with whom you are familiar. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 77 

(Mr. Turner, who was one of the moderators, here inter- 
posed and said that he had drawn the resolutions which 
Senator Douglas had read.) 

Mr. Douglas — " Yes, and Turner says that he drew these 
resolutions." ('Hurrah lor Turner,' 'Hurrah for Doug- 
las.') "That is right, give Turner cheers for drawirg ihe 
resolutions if you approve them. If he drew those reso- 
lutions he will not deny that they are the creed of the 
Black Republican party." 

Mr. Turner — "They are our creed exactly." 
Mr. Douglas — "And yet Lincoln denies that he stands 
on them. Mr. Turner says that the creed of the Black 
Eepublican party is the admission of no more slave States, 
and yet Mr. Lincoln declares that he would not like to be 
placed in a position where he would have to vote for them. 
All I have to say to friend Lincoln is, that I do not think 
there is much danger of his being placed in such a posi- 
tion. As Mr. Lincoln would be very sorrj' to be placed 
in such an embarrassing position as to be obliged to vote 
on the admission of any more slave States, 1 propose, out 
of sheer kindness, to relieve him from a^r;' such necessity. 
"When the bargain between Lincoln ur,d Trumbull was 
completed for abolitionizmg the Whig :-ad Democratic p r- 
ties, they 'spread' over the State, Lincoln pretending to be 
an old line Whig, in oider to 'rope in' the Whigs, and 
Trumbull pretending to be as good a Democrat as he ever 
was, in order to coax the Democrats over into the Aboli- 
tion ranks. They played the part that ' decoy ducks ' play 
down on the Potomac river. In that part of the country 
they make artificial ducks, and put them on the water in 
places where the wild ducks are to be found, for the pur- 
pose of decoying them. Well, Lincoln and Trumbull played 
the part of these 'decoy ducks,' and deceived enough old 
line Whigs and old line Democrats to elect a Black Repub- 
lican Legislature. When that Legislature met, the first 
thing it did was to elect as Speaker of the House the very 
man who is now boasting that he wrote the Abolition 
platform on which Lincoln will not stand. I want to know 
of Mr. Turner whether or not, when he was elected, he 
was a good embodiment of Republican principles?" 
Mr. Turner — "I hope I was then and am now." 
Mr. Douglas — " He answers that he hopes he was then 
and is now. He wrote that Black Republican platform, 
and is satisfied with it now. I admire and acknowledge 
Turner's honesty. Every man of you know that what he 



78 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

says about these resolutions being the platform of tbo 
Black Republican party is true, and you also know that 
each one of these men, who are shuffling and trying to 
deny it, are only trying to cheat the people out of their 
votes, for the purpose of deceiving them still more after 
the election. 1 propose to trace this thing a little further, 
in order that you can see what additional evidence there 
is to fasten this revolutionary platform upon the Black 
Eepublican party. When the Legislature assembled, there 
was an United IStates ISenator to elect in the place of Gen. 
Shields, and before they proceeded to ballot, Lovejoy in- 
sisted on laying down certain principles by which to gov- 
ern the party. It has been published to the world, and 
satisfactorily proven, that there was, at the time the alli- 
ance was made between Trumbull and Lincoln to aboli- 
tionize the two parties, an agreement that Lincoln should 
take Shields' place m the United States Senate, and Trum- 
bull should have mine so soon as they could conveniently 
get rid of me. When Lincoln was beaten for Shields' 
place, in a manner I will refer to in a few minutes, he 
felt very sore and restive ; his friends grumbled, and some 
of them came out and charged that the most infamous 
treachery had been practiced against him ; that the bar- 
gain was that Lincoln was to have had Shields' place, and 
Trumbull was to have waited ior mine, but tiiat Trum- 
bull, having the control of a few aboiitionized Democrats, 
he prevented them from voting for Lincoln, thus keeping 
him within a few votes of an election until he succeeded 
in forcing the party to drop him and elect Trumbull. 
Well, Trumbull having cheated Lincoln, his friends made 
a fuss, and in order to keep them and Lincoln quiet, the 
party were obliged to come forward, in advance, at the 
last State election, and make a pledge that they would 
go for Lincoln and nobody else. Lincoln could not be 
silenced in any other way. 

"Now, there are a great many Black Republicans of you 
who do not know this thing was done. ('White, white,' and 
great clamor.) 1 wish to remind you, that while Mr. 
Lincoln was speaking there was not a Democrat vulgar 
and blackguard enough to interrupt him. But I know 
that the shoe is pinching you. I am clinching Lincoln 
now, and you are scared to death for the result. I have 
seen this thing before. I have seen men make appoint- 
ments for joint discussions, and the moment their man has 
been heard, try to interrupt and prevent a fair hearing of 
the other side. I have seen your mobs before, and defy 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 79 

your wrath. My friends, do not cheer, for I need my 
whole time. The object of the opposition is to occupy my 
attention, in order to prevent me from giving the whole 
evidence and nailing this double ,dealing on the Black 
Republican party. As I have before said, Lovejoy de- 
manded a declaration of principles on the part of the 
Black Republicans of the Legislature before going into an 
election for United States Senator. He offered the follow- 
ing preamble and resolutions, which I hold in my hand. 

"'Whereas, Human slavery is a violation of the prin- 
ciples of natural and revealed rights ; and whereas, the 
fathers of the revolution, fully imbued with the spirit of 
these principles, declared freedom to be the inalienable 
birthright of all men ; and whereas, the preamble to the 
Constitution of the United States avers that that instru- 
ment was ordained to establish justice, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity ; and 
whereas, in futherance of the above principles, slavery 
was forever prohibited in the old Northwest territory, and 
more recently in all that territory lying west and north 
of the State of Missouri, by the act of the Federal Gov- 
ernment ; and whereas, the repeal of the prohibition last 
referred to was contrary to the wishes of the people of 
Illinois, a violation of an implied compact, long deemed 
sacred by the citizens of the United States, and a wide 
departure from the uniform action of the General Govern- 
ment in relation to the extension of slavery ; therefore, 

"' Resolved hy the House of Representatives, the Senate 
concurring therein, That our Senators in Congress be in- 
structed, and Representatives requested, to introduce, if not 
otherwise introduced, and to vote for, a bill to restore such 
prohibition to the aforesaid Territories, and also to extend 
a similar prohibition to all territory which now belongs to 
the United States, or which may hereafter come under 
their jurisdiction. 

" ' Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, 
and our Representatives requested, to vote against the ad- 
mission of any State into the Union, the constitution of 
which does not prohibit slavery, whether the territory out 
of which such State may have been formed shall have 
been acquired by conquest, treaty, purchase, or from orig- 
inal territory of the United States. 

" * Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, 
and our Representatives requested, to introduce and vote 
for a bill to repeal an act entitled 'an act respecting fugi- 
tives from justice and persons escaping from the service 



80 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

of their masters,' and, failing in that, for such a modifi- 
cation of it as shall secure the right of habeas corpus and 
trial by jury before the regularly constituted authorities 
of the State, to all persons claimed as owing service or labor. 

"Those resolutions were introduced by Mr. Lovejoy 
immediately preceding the election of Senator. They de- 
clared first, that the VVilmot Proviso must be applied to 
all territory north of 36 deg. 30 min. Secondly, ttiat it 
must be applied to all territory south of 36 deg. 30 min. 
Thirdly, that it must be applied to all the territory now 
owned by the United States, and finally, that it must be 
applied to all territory hereafter to be acquired by the 
United States. The next resolution declares that no more 
slave States shall be admitted into this Union under any 
circumstances whatever, no matter whether they are formed 
out of territory now owned by us or that we may here- 
after acquire, by treaty, by Congress, or in any manner 
whatever. The next resolution demands the unconditional 
repeal of the Fugitive Slave law, although its uncondi- 
tional repeal would leave no provision for carrying out 
that clause of the Constitution of the United States which 
guarantees the surrender of fugitives. If they could not 
get an unconditional repeal, they demanded that that law 
should be so modified as to make it as nearly useless as 
possible. Now, I want to show you who voted for these 
resolutions. When the vote was taken on the first reso- 
lution it was decided in the affirmative — yeas 41, nays 32. 
You will find that this is a strict party vote, between the 
Democrats on the one hand, and the Black Eepublicans 
on the other. (Cries of 'white, white,' and clamor.) I 
know your name, and always call things by their right 
name. The point I wish to call your attention to is this, 
that these resolutions were adopted on the 7th day of 
February, and that on the 8th they went into an election 
for a United States Senator, and that day every man who 
voted for these resolutions, with but two exceptions, voted 
for Lincoln for the United States Senate. ('Give us their 
names.') I will read the names over to you if you want 
them, but I believe your object is to occupy my time. 

"On the next resolution the vote stood, yeas 33, nays 
40, and on the third resolution, yeas 35, nays 47. I wish 
to impress upon you, that every man who voted for those 
resolutions, with but two exceptions, voted on the next 
day for Lincoln for United States Senator. Bear in mind 
that the members who thus voted for Lincoln were elected 
to the Legislature pledged to vote for no man for office 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 81 

under the State or Federal Government who was not com- 
mitted to this Black Eepublican platform. They were all 
80 pledged. Mr. Turner, who stands by me, and who then 
represented you, and who says that he wrote those resolu- 
tions, voted for Lincoln, when he was pledged not to do 
80 unless Lincoln was in favor of those resolutions. I 
now ask Mr. Turner, (turning to Mr. Turner,) did you 
violate your pledge in voting for Mr. Lincoln, or did he 
commit himself to your platform before you cast your 
vote for him? 

"I could go through the whole list of names here and 
show you that all the Black Republicans in the Legisla- 
ture, who voted for Mr. Lincoln, had voted on the day 
previous for these resolutions. For instance, here are 
the names of Sargent and Little of JoDaviess and Car- 
roll, Thomas J. Turner of Stephenson, Lawrence of Boone 
and McHenry, Swan of Lake, Pinckney of Ogle and 
Lyman of Winnebago counties. Thus you see that every 
member from your Congressional district voted for Mr. 
Lincoln, and they were pledged not to vote for him un- 
less he committed himself to the doctrine of no more 
slave States, and the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law. 
Mr. Lincoln tells you to-day that he is not pledged to 
any such doctrine. Either Mr. Lincoln was then com- 
mitted to those propositions, or Mr. Turner violated his 
pledges to you when he voted for him. Either Lincoln 
was pledged to each one of those propositions, or else every 
Black Eepublican Eepresentative from this Congressional 
district violated his pledge of honor to his constituents 
by voting for him. I ask you which horn of the dilemma 
will you take? Will you hold Lincoln up to the plat- 
form of his party, or will you accuse every Representative 
you had in the Legislature of violating his pledge of honor 
to his constituents? There is no escape for you. Either 
Mr. Lincoln was committed to those propositions, or your 
members violated their faith. Take either horn of the 
dilemma you choose. There is no dodging the question; 
I want Lincoln's answer. He says he was not pledged to 
repeal the Fugitive Slave Law, that he does not quite 
like to do it; he will not introduce a law to repeal it, 
but thinks there ought to be some law, — he does not tell 
what it ought to be ; upon the whole, he is altogether 
undecided, and don't know what to think or do. That 
is the substance of his answer upon the repeal of the 
Fugitive Slave Law. I put the question to him distinctly, 

—6 



82 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

whether he endorsed that part of the Black Kepubhcan 
platform which calls for the entire abrogation and 
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law. He answers, no ! That 
he does not endorse that, but he does not tell us what he 
is for or what he will vote for. His answer is, in fact, 
no answer at all. Why can not he speak out and say what 
he is for and what he will do? 

"In regard to there being no more slave States, he is not 
pledged to that. He would not like, he says, to be put 
in a position where he would have to vote one way or 
another upon that question. I pray you, do not put him 
in a position that would embarrass him so much. Gen- 
tlemen, if he goes to the Senate, he may be put in that 
position, and then which way will he vote? 

A voice — "How will you vote?" 

Mr. Douglas — "I will vote for the admission of just such a 
State as by the form of their Constitution the people show 
they want ; if they want slavery, they shall have it ; if 
they prohibit it, it shall be prohibited. They can form 
their institutions to please themselves, subject only to the 
Constitution ; and I for one stand ready to receive them 
into the Union. Why can not your Black Republican 
candidates talk out as plain as that when they are ques- 
tioned ? 

" I do not want to cheat any man out of his vote. No 
man is deceived in regard to my principles, if I have the 
power to express myself in terms explicit enough to con- 
vey my ideas. 

"Mr. Lincoln made a speech when he was nominated 
for the United States Senate which covers all the Aboli- 
tion platforms. He there lays down a proposition so broad 
in its abolitionism as to cover the whole ground. 

" 'In my opinion it (the slavery agitation) will not cease 
until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. ' A 
bouse divided against itself can not stand.' I believe this 
Government can not endure permanently half slave and 
half free. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do ex- 
pect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one 
thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
will arrest the further sjjread of it where the public mind 
shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate 
extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it 
shall become alike lawful in all the States — old as well as 
new, North as well as South.' " 

" There you find that Mr. Lincoln lays down the doc- 
trine that this Union can not endure divided as our fathers 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 83 

made it, with free and slave States. He says they must 
all become one thing, or all the other ; that they must all 
be free or all slave, or else the Union can not continue to 
exist. It being his opinion that to admit any more slave 
States — to continue to divide the Union into free and 
slave States — will dissolve it, I want to know of Mr. Lin- 
coln whether he will vote for the admission of another 
slave State. 

" He tells you the Union can not exist unless the States 
are all free or all slave; he tells you that he is opposed 
to making them all slave, and hence he is for making 
them all free, in order that the Union may exist ; and yet 
he will not say that he will not vote against another slave 
State, knowing that the Union must be dissolved if he 
votes for it. I ask you if that is fair dealing? The true 
intent and inevitable conclusion to be drawn from his first 
Springfield speech is, that he is opposed to the admission 
of any more slave States under any circumstances. If 
he is so opposed, why not say so? If he believes this 
Union can not endure divided into free and slave States, 
that they must all become free in order to save the Union, 
he is bound, as an honest man, to vote against any more 
slave States. If he believes it, he is bound to do it. Show 
me that it is my duty, in order to save the Union, to do 
a particular act, and I will do it if the Constitution does 
not prohibit it. I am not for the dissolution of the Union 
under any circumstances. I will pursue no course of con- 
duct that will give just cause for the dissolution of the 
Union. The hope of the friends of freedom throughout 
the world rests upon the perpetuity of this Union. The 
down-trodden and oppressed people who are suffering under 
European despotism all look with hope and anxiety to the 
American Union as the only resting place and permanent 
home of freedom and self-government. 

" Mr. Lincoln says that he believes that this Union can 
not continue to endure with slave States in it, and yet he 
wiU not tell you distinctly whether he will vote for or against 
the admission of any more slave States, but says he would 
not like to be put to the test. I do not think he will be 
put to the test. I do not think that the people of Illinois 
desire a man to represent them who would not like to be 
put to the test on the performance of a high constitutional 
duty. I will retire in shame from the Senate of the United 
States when I am not willing to be put to the test in the 
performance of my duty. I have been put to severe tests. 



84 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

I have stood by my principles m fair weather and in foul, 
in the sunshine and in the rain. I have defended the 
great principles of self-government here among you when 
Northern sentiment ran in a torrent against me, and I , 
have defended that same great principle when Southern 
sentiment came down like an avalanche upon me. I was 
not afraid of any test they put to me. I knew I was right — 
I knew my principles were sound — I knew that the people 
would see in the end that I had done right, and I knew 
that the God of Heaven would smile upon me if I was 
faithful in the performance of my duty. 

"Mr. Lincoln makes a charge of corruption against the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and two Presidents 
of the United States, and attempts to bolster it up by 
saying that I did the same against the Washington Union. 
Suppose I did make that charge of corruption against the 
Washington Union, when it was true ; does that justify 
him in making a false charge against me and others? 
That is the question I would put. He says that at the 
time the Nebraska bill was introduced, and before it was 
passed, there was a conspiracy between the judges of the 
Supreme Court, President Pierce, President Buchanan and 
myself by that bill, and the decision of the Court, to break 
down the barrier and establish slavery all over the Union. 
Does he not know that that charge is historically false as 
against Mr. Buchanan? He knows that Mr. Buchanan 
was at that time in England, representing this country 
with distinguished ability at the court of St. James ; that 
lie was there for a long time before, and did not return 
for a year or more after. He knows that to be true, and 
that fact proves his charge to be false as against Mr. 
Buchanan. Then, again, I wish to call his attention to 
the fact that at the time the Nebraska bill was passed, 
the Dred Scott case was not before the Supreme Court at 
all; it was not upon the docket of the Supreme Court; 
it had not been brought there, and the judges in all prob- 
ability knew nothing of it. Thus the history of the country 
proves the charge to be false as against them. As to 
President Pierce, his high character as a man of integrity 
and honor is enough to vindicate him from such a charge ; 
and as to myself, I pronounce the charge an infamous 
lie, whenever and wherever made, and by whomsoever 
made. I am willing that Mr. Lincoln should go and rake 
up every public act of mine, every measure I have intro- 
duced, report I have made, speech delivered, and criticise 
them, but when he charges upon me a corrupt conspiracy 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 85 

for the purpose of perverting the institutions of the 
country, I brand it as it deserves, I say the history of 
the country proves it to be false, and that it could not 
have been possible at the time. But now he tries to pro- 
tect himself in this charge, because I made a charge 
against the Washington Union. My speech in the Senate 
against the Washington Union was made because it advo- 
cated a revolutionary doctrine, by declaring that the free 
States had not the right to prohibit slavery within their 
own limits. Because I made that charge against the 
Washington Union, Mr. Lincoln says it was a charge 
against Mr. Buchanan. Suppose it was, is Mr. Lincoln 
the pecaliar defender of Mr. Buchanan? Is he so inter- 
ested in the Federal Administration, and so bound to it, 
that he must jump to the rescue and defend it from every 
attack that I may make against it ? I understand the whole 
thing. The Washington Union, under that most corrupt 
of all men, Cornelius Wendell, is advocating Mr. Lincoln's 
claim to the Senate. Wendell was the printer of the last 
Black Kepublican House of Eepresentatives ; he was a 
candidate before the present Democratic house, but was 
ignominiously kicked out, and then he took the money 
which he had made out of the public printing, by means 
of the Black Republicans, bought the Washington Union, 
and is now publishing it in the name of the Democratic 
party, and advocating Mr. Lincoln's election to tbe Senate. 
Mr. Lincoln, therefore, considers an attack upon Wendell 
and his corrupt gang as a personal attack upon himself. 
This only proves what I have charged, that there is an 
alliance between Lincoln and his supporters, and the 
Federal office-holders of this 'State, and Presidential aspi- 
rants out of it, to break me down at home. 

"Mr. Lincoln feels bound to come in to the rescue of 
the Washington Union. In that speech which I delivered 
in answer to the Washington Union, I made it distinctly 
against the Union, and against the Union alone. I did 
not choose to go beyond that. If I have occasion to attack 
the President's conduct, I will do it in language that will 
not be misunderstood. When I differed with the Presi- 
dent, I spoke out so that you all heard me. That question 
passed away; it resulted in the triumph of my principle, 
by allowing the people to do as they please, and there is 
an end of the controversy. Whenever the great principle 
of self-government— the right of the people to make their 
own constitution, and come into the Union with slavery 
or without, as they see proper — shall again rise, you will 



86 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

find me standing firm in defense of that principle, and 
fighting whoever fights it. If Mr. Buchanan stands, as I 
doubt not he will, by the recommendation contained in 
his message, that hereafter all State constitutions ought 
to be submitted to the people before the admission of the 
State into the Union, he will find me standing by him 
firmly, shoulder to shoulder, in carrying it out. I know 
Mr. Lincoln's object; he wants to divide the Democratic 
party, in order that he may cheat me and get to the 
Senate." 

Mr. Douglas' time here expired, and he stopped on the 

moment. 

MR. Lincoln's rejoinder. 

"My Friends: It will readily occur to you that I can- 
not, in half an hour, notice all the things that so able 
a man as Judge Douglas can say in an hour and a half ; 
and I hope, therefore, if there be anything that he has 
said upon which you would like to hear something from 
me, but which I omit to comment upon, you will bear in 
mind that it would be expecting an impossibility for me 
to go over his whole ground. I can but take up some of 
the points that he has dwelt upon, and employ my half 
hour specially on them. 

" The first thing that I have to say to you, is a word in 
regard to Judge Douglas' declaration about the 'vulgarity 
and blackguardism' in the audience, that no such thing, 
as he says, was shown by any Democrat while I was speak- 
ing. Now, I only wish, by way of reply on this subject, 
to say that while I was speaking, / used no 'vulgarity or 
blackguardism' toward any Democrat. 

"Now, my friends, I come to all this long portion of the 
Judge's speech — perhaps half of it — which be has devoted 
to the various resolutions and platforms that have been 
adopted in the different counties in the different Congres- 
bional districts, and in the Illinois Legislature, which he 
supposes are at variance Vv'ith the positions I have assumed 
before you to-day. It is true that many of these resolu- 
tions are at variance with the positions I have here as- 
sumed. All I have to ask is, that we talk reasonably and 
rationally about it. I happen to know, the Judge's opinion 
to the contrary, notwithstanding, that I have never tried 
to conceal my opinions, nor tried to deceive any one in 
reference to them. He may go and examine all the mem- 
bers who voted for me for United States Senator in 1855, 



POI.TTICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 87 

after the election of 1854. They were pledged to certain 
things here at home, and were determined to have pledges 
from me, and if he will find any of these persons who will 
iell him anything inconsistent with what I say now, 1 will 
resign, or rather retire from the race, and give him no 
more trouble. The plain truth is this. At the introduc- 
tion of the Nebraska policy, we believed there was a new 
■era being introduced in the history of the Republic, which 
tended to the spread and perpetuation of slavery. But in 
our opposition to that measure we did not agree with one 
another in everything. The people in the north end of 
the State were for stronger measures of opposition than 
we of the central and southern portions of the State, but 
we were all opposed to the Nebraska doctrine. We had 
that one feeling and that one sentiment in common. You 
at the north end met in your conventions and passed your 
resolutions. We in the middle of the State and further 
south did not hold such conventions and pass the same 
resolutions, although we had, in general, a common view 
and a common sentiment. So that these meetings, which 
the Judge has alluded to, and the resolutions he has read 
from, were local, and did not spread over the whole State. 
We at last met together in 1856, from all parts of the 
State, and we agreed upon a common platform. You, 
who held more extreme notions, either yielded those 
notions, or, if not wholly yielding them, agreed to yield 
them practically, for the sake of embodying the opposition 
to the measures which the opposite party were pushing 
forward at that time. We met you then, and if there was 
anything yielded, it was for practical purposes. We agreed 
xhen upon a platform for the party throughout the entire 
State of Illinois, and now we are all bound, as a party, 
to that platform. And I say here to you, if any one ex- 
pects of me — in the case of my election — that I will do 
anything not signified by our Republican platform and my 
answers here to-day, I tell you very frankly that person 
will be deceived. I do not ask for the vote of any one 
■who supposes that I have secret purposes or pledges that 
1 dare not speak out. Can not the Judge be satisfied ? If 
he fears, in the unfortunate case of my election, that my 
going to Washington will enable me to advocate senti- 
ments contrary to those which I expressed when you voted 
for and elected me, I assure him that his fears are wholly 
needless and groundless. Is the Judge really afraid of any 
"such thing? I'll tell you what he is afraid of. He is 
afraid we'll all pull together. This is what alarms him 



83 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

more than anything else. For my part, I do hope that 
all of us, entertaining a common sentiment in opposition 
to what appears to us a design to nationalize and perpet- 
uate slavery, will waive minor differences on questions, 
which either belong to the dead past or the distant future, 
and all pull together in the struggle. What are your sen- 
timents? If it be true, that on the ground which I 
occupy — ground which I occupy as frankly and boldly as- 
Judge Douglas does his — my views, though partly coin- 
ciding with yours, are not as perfectly in accordance with 
your feelings as his are, I do say to you, in all candor, 
go for him and not for me. I hope to deal in all things 
fairly with Judge Douglas, and with the people of the 
State, in this contest. And if I should never be elected 
to any office, I trust I may go down with no stain of 
falsehood upon my reputation, notwithstanding the hard 
opinions Judge Douglas chooses to entertain of me. 

" The Judge has again addressed himself to the aboli- 
tion tendencies of a speech of mine, made at Springfield 
in June last. I have so often tried to answer what he 
is always saying on that melancholy theme, that I almost 
turn with disgust from the discussion — from the repetition 
of an answer to it. I trust that nearly all of this intelli- 
gent audience have read that speech. If you have, I may 
venture to leave it to you to inspect it closely, and see 
whether it contains any of those 'bugaboos' which frighten 
Judge Douglas. 

" The Judge complains that I did not fully answer his 
questions. If I have the sense to comprehend and answer 
those questions, I have done so fairly. If it can be pointed 
out to me how I can more fully and fairly answer him, 
I aver I have not the sense to see how it is to be done. 
He says I do not declare I would, in any event, vote for 
the admission of a slave State into the Union. If I have 
been fairly reported he will see that I did give an explicit 
answer to his interrogatories. I did not merely say that 
I would dislike to be put to the test ; but I said clearly, 
if I were put to the test, and a Territory from which 
slavery had been excluded should present herself with a 
State Constitution sanctioning slavery, — a most extraor- 
dinary thing, and wholly unlikely to happen, — I did not 
see how I could avoid voting for her admission. But he 
refuses to understand that I said so, and he wants this 
audience to understand that I did not say so. Yet it will 
be so reported in the printed speech that he can not help 
seeing it. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 89 

" He says if I should vote for the admission of a slave 
State I would be voting for a dissolution of the Union, 
because I hold that the Union cannot permanently exist 
half slave and half free. 1 repeat that I do not believe 
this Government can endure permanently half slave and 
half free, yet I do not admit, or does it at all follow, 
that the admission of a single slave State will perma- 
nently fix the character and establish this as a univer- 
sal slave Nation. The Judge is very happy indeed at 
working up these quibbles. Before leaving the subject of 
answering questions, 1 aver as my confident belief, when 
you come to see our speeches in print, that you will find 
every question which he has asked me more fairly and 
boldly and fully answered than he has answered those 
which I put to him. Is not that so? The two speeches 
may be placed side by side ; and I will venture to leave 
it to impartial judges whether his questions have not been 
more directly and substantially answered than mine. 

" Judge Douglas says he made a charge upon the editor 
of the Washington Union, alone, of entertaining a purpose 
to rob tbe States of their power to exclude slavery from 
their limits. I undertake to say, and I make the direct 
issue, that he did not make his charge against the Union 
alone. I will undertake. to prove by the record here, that 
he made that charge against more and higher dignitaries 
than the editor of the Washing on Union. I am quite 
aware that he was shirking and dodging around the form 
in which he put it, but 1 can make it manifest that he 
leveled his ' fatal blow ' against more persons than this 
Washington editor. Will he dodge it now by alleging 
that I am trying to defend Mr. Buchanan against the 
charge ? Not at all. Am I not making the same charge my- 
self? I am trying to show that you, Judge Douglas, are 
a witness on my side. I am not defending Buchanan, 
and I will tell Judge Douglas that in my opinion, when 
he made that charge he had an eye farther north than 
he was to-day. He was then fighting against people who 
called him a Black Republican and an Abolitionist. It is 
mixed all through his speech, and it is tolerably manifest 
that his eye was a great deal farther north than it is to- 
day. The Judge says that though he made this charge, 
Toombs got up and declared there was not a man in the 
United States, except the editor of the Union, who was 
in favor of the doctrine put forth in that article. And 
thereupon, I understand that the Judge withdrew the charge. 
Although he had taken extracts from the newspaper, 



90 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and then from the Lecompton constitution, to show the 
existence of a conspiracy to bring about a 'fatal blow' 
by which the States were to be deprived of the right of 
excluding slavery, it all went to pot as soon as Toombs 
got up and told him it was not true. It reminds me of 
the story that John Phoenix, the California railroad sur- 
veyor, tells. He says they started out from Plaza to the 
Mission of Dolores. They had two ways of determining 
distances. One was by a chain and pins taken over the 
ground. The other was by a 'go-it-ometer,' an invention 
of his own — a three-legged instrument, with which he 
computed a series of triangles between the points. At 
night he turned to the chain-man to ascertain what dis- 
tance they had come, and found that by some mistake he- 
had merely dragged the chain over the ground without keep- 
ing any record. By the 'go-it-ometer' he found he had 
made ten miles. Being skeptical about this, he asked a 
drayman who was passing how far it was to the Plaza. 
The drayman replied that it was just half a mile, and 
the surveyor put it down in his book — just as Judge Doug- 
las says, after he had made his calculations and compu- 
tations, he took Toombs' statement. I have no doubt that 
after Judge Douglas had made his charge, he was as 
easily satisfied about its truth as the surveyor was of the 
drayman's statement of the distance to the Plaza. Yet it 
is a fact that the man who put forth all that matter 
which Douglas deemed a 'fatal blow' at State sovereignty, 
was elected by the Democrats as public printer. 

"Now, gentlemen, you may take Judge Douglas' speech 
of March 22d, 1858, beginning about the middle of page 
21, and reading to the bottom of page 24, and you will 
find the evidence on which I say that he did not make 
his charge against the editor of the Union alone. I can 
not stop to read it, but I will give it to the reporters. 
Judge Douglas said: 

" 'Mr. President, you here find several distinct proposi- 
tions advanced boldly by the Washington Union, editorially 
and apparently authoritatively, and every man who questions 
any of them is denounced as an Abolitionist, a Freesoiler, 
a fanatic. The propositions are, first, that the primary 
object of all government at its original institution is the 
protection of persons and property ; second, that the Con- 
stitution of the United States declares that the citizens 
of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and im- 
munities of citizens in the several States ; and that, there- 
fore, thirdly, all State laws, whether organic or otherwise, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 91 

which prohibit the citizens of one State from setthug in 
another with their slave property, and especially declaring 
it forfeited, are direct violations of the original intention 
of the Government and Constitution of the United States; 
and fourth, that the emancipation of the slaves of the 
Northern States was a gross outrage on the rights of 
property, inasmuch as it was involuntarily done on the 
part of the owner.' 

"Remember that this arcicle was published in the Union 
on the 17tli of November, and on the 18th appeared the 
first article giving the adhesion of the Union to the Le- 
compton constitution. It was in these words : 

" 'Kansas and her, constitution. — The vexed question is 
settled. The problem is solved. The dread point of dan- 
ger is passed. All serious trouble to Kansas affairs is 
over and gone' — 

"And a column, nearly, of the same sort. Then, when 
you come to look into the Lecompton constitution, you 
find the same doctrine incorporated in it which was put 
forth editorially in the Union. What is it? 

" 'Article 7, section 1. The right of property is before 
and higher than any constitutional sanction ; and the right 
of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase, is 
the same and as invariable as the right of the owner of 
any property whatever.' 

"Then in the schedule is a provision that the constitu- 
tion may be amended after 1864 by a two-thirds vote. 

" 'But no alteration shall be made to affect the right of 
property in the ownership of slaves.' 

"It will be seen by these clauses in the Lecompton con- 
stitution that they are identical in spirit with this author- 
itative article in the Washington Union of the day previous 
to its indorsement of this constitution. 

"When I saw that article in the Union of the 17th of 
November, followed by the glorification of the Lecompton 
constitution on the 18th of November, and this clause in 
the constitution asserting the doctrine that a State has no 
right to prohibit slavery within its limits, I saw that there 
was a fatal blow being struck at the sovereignty of the 
States of this Union. 

"Here he says, 'Mr. President, you here find several 
distinct propositions advanced boldly, and apparently 
authoritatively.'' By whose authority, Judge Douglas? 
Again, he says in another place, 'It will be seen by these 
clauses in the Lecompton constitution, that they are iden- 
tical in spirit with this authoritative article.' By whose 



92 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

authority? Who do you mean to say authorized the pub- 
lication of these articles? He knows that the Washington 
Union is considered the organ of the administration. I 
demand of Judge Douglas by tvJwse authority he meant to 
say those articles were published, if not by the authority 
of the President of the United States and his cabinet? 
I defy him to show whom he referred to, if not to these 
high functionaries in the Federal Government. More than 
this, he says the articles in that paper and the provision 
of the Lecqmpton constitution are 'identical,' and being 
identical, he argues that the authors are co-operating and 
conspiring together. He does not use the word 'conspir- 
ing,' but what other construction can you put upon it? 
He winds up with this : 

" 'When I saw that article in the Union of the 17th of 
November, followed by the glorification of the Lecompton 
constitution on the 18th of November, and this clause in 
the constitution asserting the doctrine that a State has 
no right to prohibit slavery within its hmits, I saw that 
there was a fatal blow being struck at the sovereignty of 
the States of this Union.' 

" I ask him if all this fuss was made over the editor of 
this newspaper. It would be a terribly 'fatal blow' indeed, 
which a single man could strike, when no President, no 
Cabinet officer, no member of Congress, was giving strength 
and efficiency to the movement. Out of respect to Judge 
Douglas' good sense, I must believe he didn't manufacture 
his idea of the 'fatal' character of that blow out of such 
a miserable scapegrace as he represents that editor to be. 
But the Judge's eye is farther south now. Then, it was 
very peculiarly and decidedly north. His hope rested on 
the idea of visiting the great 'Black Pi, ^publican' party, 
and making it the tail of his new kite. He knows he was 
then expecting from day to day to turn Republican and 
place himself at the head of our organization. He has 
found that these despised 'Black Republicans' estimate him 
by a standard which he has taught them none too well. 
Hence he is crawling back into his old camp, and you will 
find him eventually installed in full fellowship among those 
whom he was then battling, and with whom he now pre- 
tends to be at such fearful variance. (Loud applause and 
cries of 'Go on, go on.') I can not, gentlemen, my time 
has expired." 

There had been a disposition on the part of Mr. Lincoln's 

political friends to see that he adopted such a line of policy 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 93 

as would prevent Mr. Douglas from taking an undue ad- 
vantage of him. They had an idea that they knew more 
about conducting the campaign than Mr, Lincoln could 
possibly know; and when he propounded to Douglas the 
four questions embraced in his opening speech on this 
occasion, they felt that he had done just what Douglas 
wanted him to do, and they said to him that he had al- 
ready as good as elected Douglas to the Senate. The 
unerring foresight of Lincoln was incomprehensible. His 
reply was : " That may be, but it will defeat him for the 
Presidency." So it proved, for it was the answers which 
Douglas gave to those questions which lost him the sup- 
port of the South in the campaign of 1850, and this divi- 
sion of the Democratic party gave the Presidency to the 
Eepublicans. 

In the eyes of the Nation, these men were regarded as 
intellectual giants; but while they were giants, there w.t; 
as much difference between them on the issue they dis- 
cussed, as there is between day and night. Douglas was 
ambitious for the Presidency, and really believed in the 
right of the people to hold colored men as slaves ; and 
while in fact he was opposed to the further extension of 
slavery, yet he was in favor of allowing the people who 
framed the constitutions of the new States the right to 
settle the question for themselves. Lincoln, on the other 
hand, recognized slavery as a great moral wrong, but he 
also recognized the right of the owners of slaves to their 
property under existing laws, and was unwilling to disturb 
them in that right ; yet he was unalterably opposed to the 
further extension of slavery. He was not an Abolitionist 
in the sense that Sumner, Giddings or Hale were held. 
There was no prejudice in his mind against the Southern 
people. There was nothing denunciatory in the language 
of his speeches. He held to the principle of equity in 
regard to the rights of the owners of slaves, which was 



94 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

not possessed by any other leading man in the anti-slavery 
party. He sought justice for all men, and all sections, 
and it was these principles which linally won for him the 
leadership of the party which had fought the existence or 
extension of slavery in so many forms, and gave to him 
such a proud position in the statesmanship of the civilized 
world. 



CHAPTER VII. 
STATE GOVERNMENr-1859. 



Governor — William H. Bissell. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John Wood. 

Secretary of State — 0. M. Hatch. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Jesse K. Dubois. 

Treasurer — William Butler. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 



Twenty-first General Assembly. 

The Twenty-first General Assembly convened January 3, 
and consisted of the following members : 

Senate. 

Norman B. Judd, Cook. A. L. Knapp, Jersey. 

Henry W. Blodgett, Lake. C. W. Vauderen, Sangamon. 

Zenas Applington, Ogle. Joel S. Post, Macon. 

J. H. Addams, Stephenson. Sam'l W. Fuller, Tazewell. 

Eichard F. Adams, Lee. T. A. Marshall, Coles. 

G. D. A. Parks, Will. Mortimer O'Kean, Jasper. 

B. C. Cook, LaSalle. Silas L. Bryan, Marion. 
Geo. C. Bestor, Peoria. S. A. Buckmaster, Madison. 
T. J. Henderson, Stark. Wm. H. Underwood, St. Clair. 
Wm. C. Goudy, Fulton. Sam'l H. Martin, White. 

J, P. Kichmond, Schuyler. E. C. Coffey, Washington. 
Austin Brooks, Adams. A. J. Kuykendall, Johnson. 

C. L. Higbee, Pike. 



politics and politicians of illinois. 95 

House of Kepresentatives. 



Wm. Berry, McDonough. 
J. (y. Graham, Fulton. 
S. P. Cumminos, Fulton. 
Wm. Engle, Menard. 
Geo. H. Campbell, Logan. 
Dan'l Stickel, DeWitt. 
0. F. Harmon, Vermilion. 
Leonard Swett, McLean. 
E. B. M. Wilson, Tazewell. 
Wm. C. Rice, Henderson, 
Thos. C. Moore, Peoria. 
Myrtle G. Brace, Stark. 
J.'S. McCall, Marshall. 
Alex. Campbell, LaSalle. 
R. S. Hicks, Livingston. 
Val. Vermilyea, Kendall. 
Hiram Norton, Will. 
Alonzo W. Mack, Kankakee. 
J. M. Hood, DuPage. 
Wm. Patton, DeKalb, 
Wm. B. Plato, Kane. 
John H. Bryant, Bureau. 
E. Gilmore. Jr., Rock Island. 
Wm. Prothrow, Whiteside. 
Joshua White, Ogle. 
James DeWolf, Carroll. 
H. S. Townsend, JoDaviess. 
J. A. Davis, Stephenson. 
E. W. Blaisdell, jr., Winnebago 
L. H. Church, McHenry. 
S. A. Hurlbut, Boone. 
Elijah M. Haines, Lake. 
Van H. Higgins, Cook. 
Samuel L. Baker, Cook. 
Ebenezer Peck, Cook. 
Casper Butz, Cook. 
Rufus W. Miles, Knox. 



Wm. A. Hacker, Union. 
Wm. H. Green, Massac. 
J. D. Pulley, Johnson, 
Thos. S. Hicks, Gallatin. 
J. Hampton, Franklin. 
J. E. Detrich, Randolph. 
J. D. Wood, Washington. 
J. Mcllvaine, Hamilton, 
W. B. Anderson, Jefferson. 
John G. Powell, White. 
R. T. Forth, Wayne. 
W. R. Morrison, Monroe. 
John Scheel, St. Clair. 
Vital Jarrot, St. Clair. 
Chas. Hoiles, Bond. 
Z. B. Job, Madison. 
J. H. Sloss, Madison. 
S. Hardin, Effingham. 
W. J. Stephenson, Clay. 
H. C. McCleave, Crawford. 
J. Updegraff, Clark. 
T. Brewer, Cumberland. 
J. M. Davis, Montgomery. 
W. C. Shirley, Macoupin. 
F. P. Rush, Calhoun. 
Alex. King, Greene. 
Robt. Moselv, Edgar. 
Wm. W. Craddock, Coles. 
J. W. Barrett, Sangamon. 
Dan'l Short, Sangamon. 
Cvrus Epler, Morgan. 
Elisha B. Hitt, Scott. 
Gilbert J. Shaw, Pike. 
King Kerley, Brown. 
Moses M. Bane, Adams. 
Western Metcalf, Adams. 
Lewis D. Erwin, Schuyler. 
W. H. Rosevelt, Hancock. 

Lieutenant-Governor John Wood presided over the Sen- 
ate, and Finney D. Preston, of Richland, was elected 
Secretary, over J. W. Schaffer, of Stephenson, by a vote 
of 14 to 11. 



96 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

W. E. Morrison, of Monroe, was elected Speaker of the 
House, over Vital Jarrot, of St. Clair, by vive voce vote, 
and David E. Head, of Hancock, was elected Clerk, over 
Christopher C. Brown, of Sangamon, by a vote of 40 
to 3i. 

Among the new members of this assembly who were 
able and active, were : Blodgett, Brooks, Higbee, Knapp, 
Marshall, Euckmaster, Hacker, Green, Thomas S. Hick, 
Swett, Mack, Plato, Bryant, Hurlbut, Peck. 

The message of Governor Bissell was laid before the 
two houses on the 5th. He congratulated the General 
Assembly on the happy and prosperous condition of the 
State in these words : 

" Each recurring session of our Legislature brings with 
it increasing cause of gladness at the rapid and marvel- 
ous advances which we, as the people of a sovereign 
State, are making in all the elements of National great- 
ness. Our physical, intellectual and moral condition is 
advancing with a rapidity probably never equalled in any 
age, nor among any people on the globe. Our almost 
limitless prairies are being converted, as if by magic, into 
fertile and teeming fields, the produce of which, finding 
cheap and speedy transit over our magnificent rivers and 
railroads to the best markets in the world, is enriching 
our farmers, and creating and sustaming a healthful busi- 
ness in all the useful departments of life ; while the steady 
and rapid multiplication of school houses, for the common 
as well as higher schools, throughout the State, give evi- 
dence, alike conclusive and gratifying, that the impor- 
tant matter of educating the rising generation is beginning 
to receive from our citizens that degree of attention which 
its real importance demands." 

He showed that the State debt and the arrears of interest 
had been reduced during the years 1857-58, $1,166,876.74, 
leaving a balance of principal and arrears of interest of 
$11,138,453.93. He advised less legislation on private or 
trivial matters, and recommended that the laws enacted 
should be few and general. He recommended legislation 
in the interest of agriculture, the charitable institutions, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 97 

Normal University, public instruction, banking and other 
general subjects, such as a school for idiots, criminal 
code and the militia. On questions political he said : 

"I took occasion in my first annual message to refer to 
disturbing questions which then agitated and continue to 
agitate the country. It is to be deplored that any question 
exists so important and yet so complex as to disturb the 
perfect amity which should prevail in a government con- 
stituted like ours., 

"Instead of a decrease of causes of complaint, new sub- 
jects of a disturbing character are presented, until it would 
seem that a fixed determination prevails to deprave public 
sentiment, and accustom it to aggressions, until either 
through exhaustion or indifference all opposition to nation- 
alizing slavery shall subside or become inert. 

"The decision of the highest judicial tribunal known to 
our country, apparently designed to encourage the belief 
that slavery may and does of right lawfully exist in all 
the Territories, if not in all the States of the Union, was 
a backward step in the march of civilization, which has 
excited the surprise and regret of a very large portion of 
all the people of the Union. 

"While the belief is inculcated that the hand of Provi- 
dence has marked out a chosen boundary within which no 
other institutions than such as are sustained by human 
slavery can be prosperous or produce the results desirable 
for the promotion of human welfare, and while negroes 
are openly imported and landed on our coasts, in defiance 
of law, without any apparent probability of punishment 
for the outrage, or of preventing its recurrence, it may be 
vain to hope that any harmony will be very soon estab- 
lished in reference to this disturbing question. 

"The pubhc mind does not find in such action any im- 
mediate prospect of repose. The anomalous condition of 
things in this regard is an admonition to us that vigilance 
in the protection of human freedom and human rights 
should be quickened, or the permanent elevation and hap- 
piness of the white race will be endangered. 

"To avoid the perils that surround our institutions, and 
to perpetuate freedom and extend the blessings of liberty 
designed and left us as an inheritance by our forefathers, 
it is important that we should not shrink from such a 
declaration of our opinions, and from such positive action 
as will effectually arrest further aggressions upon the laws 
of the Nation and the spirit of the Constitution. 
—7 



98 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"In an age so prone to misrepresentation as the present, 
our devotion to the Constitution and the Union cannot be 
too frequently nor too distinctly declared. In view of this^ 
I cannot forbear placing upon record my protest, embody- 
ing, as I believe, the sentiment of the people of Illinois, 
against the idea and against any national policy conform- 
ing to the idea that the Almighty has drawn a line on 
this continent on one side of which the soil must be cul- 
tivated by slave labor." 

On the 6th of January the Senate and House of Eepre- 
sentatives met in joint session for the purpose of electing 
a United States Senator; Stephen A. Douglas received 
54 votes and Abraham Lincoln 46. Douglas having re- 
ceived a majority of all the votes cast, was declared duly 
elected for the term of six years, from March, 1859. 

The duration of the session was fifty-two days. Outside 
of the election of Senator, there was little of an exciting 
nature, and the laws enacted, other than those which per- 
tained to the carrying on of the State government and the 
institutions, were local in character. A joint resolution 
was passed asking Congress for the immediate construc- 
tion of a building at Springfield, for the accommodation of 
United States courts, pension, land and post offices, and 
also a joint resolution recommending that at the next 
election for members of the General Assembly the electors 
vote for or against calling a convention to form a new 
constitution. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 99 



CHAPTER VIII. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1860. 



Four State Tickets— Four Electoral Tickets— Aggregate Vote for State 
Officers— Aggregate Vote for Congressmen, by Districts— Aggregate 
Vote for Electors— How Lovejoy Conquered Prejudice— An Attempt to 
Kidnap Richard Yates— How Lovejoy Helped the Democrats— Yates and 
the Kentucky Colonel—" It Made Our Very Hair Frizzle." 



The Eepublicans were early in opening the campaign. 
They assembled in State Convention on the 9th of May. 
Richard Yates was nominated for Governor, Francis A. 
Hoffman for Lieutenant-Governor, Jesse K. Dubois for 
Auditor, Wm. Butler for Treasurer, 0. M. Hatch for Sec- 
retary of State, and Newton Bateman for Superintendent 
of Public Instruction. A resolution favoring the nomina- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln for President was unanimously 
adopted. 

On the 13th of June the Democrats met at Springfield 
and nominated James C. Allen for Governor, L. W. Koss 
for Lieutenant-Governor, G. H. Campbell for Secretary of 
State, Bernard Arntzen for Auditor, Hugh Maher for Treas- 
urer, and E. R. Roe for Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. They endorsed the candidacy of Stephen A. Douglas 
for the Presidency. 

The Buchanan Democracy held their State convention 
at the same place, on the 11th of July, and nominated 
Thomas M. Hope for Governor, Thomas Snell for Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, B. T. Burke for Secretary of State, Henry 
S. Smith for Auditor, W. H. Cather for Treasurer, and 



100 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

J. H. Dennis for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
This convention was composed chiefly of Federal office 
holders. 

The Bell and Everett party — Native American —held 
their State convention as late as August 16, at Decatur. 
John T. Stuart was nominated for Governor, Henry S. Black- 
burn for Lieutenant-Governor, James Monroe for Secretary 
of State, James D. Smith for Auditor, Jonathan Stamper 
for Treasurer, and D. J. Snow for Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction. 

The Democratic National Convention had assembled at 
Charleston, South Carolina, April 23, with full delegations 
from every State, and after fifty-seven ineffectual ballots 
for a candidate for President, seven of the Southern States 
withdrew, when the convention adjourned, to meet at Bal- 
timore, June 18, at which Stephen A. Douglas was nomi- 
nated for President, and B. Fitzpatrick, of Georgia, for 
Vice-President, but Fitzpatrick declined the nomination, 
and Hershell V. Johnson, of the same State, was substi- 
tuted by the National Committee. The Seceders met in 
the same city, June 22, and nominated John C. Breckin- 
ridge, of Kentucky, for President, and Joseph Lane, of 
Oregon, for Vice-President. 

A " Constitutional Union " convention from twenty States 
met at Baltimore, May 9, and nominated John Bell, of 
Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, for the 
Presidency and Vice-Presidency. 

The Eepublican National Convention assembled at Chi- 
cago, May 16, and nominated Abraham Lincoln for Presi- 
dent, and Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice-President. 

The novel spectacle of four State tickets and four Presi- 
dential tickets was presented to our people for the first 
and perhaps the last time. 

The contest was remarkable in character. The four 
Presidential tickets made it necessary to present four sets 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 101 

of State and District Electors, which, added to the candi- 
dates on the respective State tickets, presented an array 
of speaking talent that was never before, nor since, wit- 
nessed in any political struggle in our State. But the 
real issue was between the Eepublican party and the 
Douglas Democracy. Eichard Yates was regarded as one 
of the ablest, if not the ablest and most impressive speak- 
ers in the country, while James C. Allen was as near his 
peer as any man within the Democratic lines. Each 
made an extended canvass, speaking day and night to con- 
gregated thousands of anxious hearers. The issue was 
National — the slavery question — and while Allen presented 
the views of his wing of the Democratic party with mas- 
terly ability, it was apparent that the popular heart in 
the more enlightened districts was with Yates, and that 
the people felt that the Eepublican party was not only 
progressive in character, but that it was sound in its 
theory as to the proper solution of the vexed question of 
slavery, and when the election returns came in it was 
shown that the Eepublicans had carried the Presidential 
and State tickets, and both branches of the Legislature. 
Yates run 1,090 ahead of Lincoln and Hamlin, and Allen 
999 ahead of Douglas and Johnson. The Breckinridge 
and Lane vote was 2,292, and Bell and Everett 4,851. 
The Eepublican vote for President was 171,106, and the 
Douglas vote was 168,254. 

The aggregate vote for State officers, Congressmen and 
Presidential Electors is as follows : 

Governor. 

Eichard Yates 172,196 

James C. Alien, D 159,253 

T. M. Hope, B. D 2,049 

John T. Stuart, B. E 1,626 

Scattering 1,279 



102 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Lieutenant- GovEKNOE. 

F. A. Hoffman, E 171,757 

Lewis W. lloss, D 158,883 

Thomas Snell, B. D 1,909 

H. C. Blackburn, B. E 3,669 

J. W. Bushnell 43 

Scattering 36 

Secretary of State. 

0. M. Hatch, E 172,836 

G. H. Campbell, D 160,298 

B. T. Burke, B. D 2,022 

Jas. Monroe, B. E 3,459 

Auditor. 

J. K. Dubois, E 173,101 

B. Arntzen, D 159,841 

H. S. Smith, B. D 2,127 

J. D. Smith, B. E 3,400 

Treasurer. 

Wm. Butler, E 172,622 

Hugh Maher, D 160,923 

W. H. Gather, B. D 1,967 

Jonathan Stamper, B. E 3,417 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

N. Bateman, E 173,064 

E. E. Eoe, D 160,143 

D. J. Snow, B. E 3,314 

J. H. Dennis, B. D 1,998 

Members of Congress — First District. 

EHhu Washburne, E 21,436 

Theodore A. C. Beard 8,929 

Scattering 14 

Second District. 

Isaac N. Arnold, E. 30,834 

Augustus M. Herrrington 16,950 

Scattering 72 



politics and politictans of illinois. 103 

Thied Distkict. 

Owen Lovejoy, K 29,000 

Robert N. Murray 18,S43 

Wniiam N. Murry 884 

Scattering 69 

Fourth District. 

William Kellogg, R 25,668 

Robt. G. Ingersoll 21,297 

Scattering 15 

Fifth District. 

William A. Richardson, D 16,946 

Benj. M. Prentiss 14,684 

Scattering 20 

Sixth District. 

John A. McClemand, D 21,2C6 

Henry Case 16,244 

Scattering 7 

Seventh District. 

James C. Robinson, D 19,206 

Jas. T. Cunningham 16,313 

Scattering 10 

Eighth District. 

Philip B. Fouke, D 16,592 

Joseph Gillespie 13,ol5 

Willis D. Green 129 

Ninth District. 

John A. Logan, D 20,863 

David T. Linegar 5,207 

Scattering 165 

Presidential Electors — Lincoln, R. 

Leonard Swett 171,106 

John M. Palmer 171,126 

Allen C. Fuller 171,110 

William B. Plato 171,137 

Lawrence Welden 171,019 

William P. KeUogg 171,029 

James Stark 171,021 



104 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

James C. Conkling 170,70^ 

Henry P. H. Bromwell 171,021 

Thomas G. Allen 171,035 

John Olney 171,018 

Douglas, D. 

James L. D. Morrison 158,254 

William H. W. Cushman 158,257 

John A. Kawlins 168,233' 

J. Wilson Drury 158,248 

Samuel W. Randall 158,244 

S. Corning Judd 158,246 

Calvin A. Warren 158,247 

Anihony Thornton 15^,248 

Nathan W. Tapper 158,248 

William H. Underwood 158,246 

Isham N. Haynie 158,244 

Breckineidge, B. D. 

John Dougherty 2,292 

Thompson Campbell 2,292 

William Shannon, Jr 2,292 

John C. Ambler 2,292 

Norman H. Purple 2,29a 

WiUiam C. Wagley 2,292 

John L. McConnel 2,288 

John E. CummingB 2,292 

J. M. Hawiey 2,111 

John E. Neil 2,147 

Justus Stevens 2,292 

Bell, C. U. 

M. Y. Johnson 4,851 

David M. Woodson 4,80a 

H. S. Hanchett 4,819 

John G. Rogers 4,811 

Josiah Snow 4,798 

Alexander J. Frick 4,811 

C. M. Irwin 4,811 

David A. Brown 4,811 

John Kofer 4,811 

L. Noland 4,809 

W.J. Yost 4,770 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 105 

How LovEJOY Conquered Prejudice. 

In this campaign, Gov. Palmer, then a Eepublican, and 
from early manhood an Abolitionist in principle, and al- 
ways an outspoken friend of the colored race, refused to 
take the stump for the Piepublican ticket unless the Ee- 
publican leaders would consent to send to his section 
some of the pronounced Abolitionists of the country, such 
as Sumner, Giddings, Hale or Lovejoy, contending that 
he had been the apologist for the views of these men as 
long as he wished; that as Kepublicans they could not 
lunger disguise the fact that they were in reality Aboli- 
tionists, and he was in favor of meeting the issue fairly 
and squarely. Finally he overpowered the views of the 
local committee and an application was made to the State 
Central Committee for one or more of these speakers, 
and an appointment was made for Owen Lovejoy at Te- 
gard's Mill, in the corner of the counties of Greene, Jersey 
and Macoupin. Norman B. Judd and John H. Bryant, 
brother of the poet, accompanied Mr. Lovejoy, but when 
they reached Carlinville, where they were to remain over 
night, none of the Kepublicans were wilhng to entertain 
Mr. Lovejoy, and Gov. Palmer, a recognized Abolitionist, 
was quietly requested to allow him to become his guest, 
which he did. Next day, when they arrived at the place 
of meeting, they found full five thousand people assembled, 
most of v.'hom came through curiosity, simply to see 
the wonderful Abolitionist. In all that number it 
is said there were not five hundred Republicans. The 
stand from which Lovejoy was to speak had been boarded 
up on all sides, leaving only a doorway. A short time 
before the speaking was to begin, Mr. Palmer obtained an 
axe and walking deliberately into the stand said, in his 
pleasant off-hand way : "Gentlemen, we have with us to- 
day the wonderful Abolitionist, Owen Lovejoy; you have 
seen that he has neither horns nor tail, and now I will 



106 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

allow you to see that he has no hoofs," at the same time 
knocking the boards from all sides of the stand so as to 
expose the person of Mr. Lovejoy to full view. The effect 
of this undreamed of proceeding put everybody in a good 
humor, and Mr. Lovejoy, humoring the fun Mr. Palmer had 
had at his expense, came forward with his face wreathed 
in smiles and commejiced his address without a thought 
as to the character of his audience, speaking for over two 
hours ; and it is said by those who had heard him on 
many occasions before that he never made a more effec- 
tive speech in his life. There were a thousand people in 
tears. He had conquered prejudice, simply by his power 
of eloquence. That night there was no trouble about his 
getting shelter. 

An Attempt to Kidnap Kichard Yates. 
This campaign was one of the most hotly contested 
struggles ever witnessed in Southern Illinois, and the in- 
cident of which we write occurred in Gallatin county, 
which was then regarded as the fountain head of pure 
Democracy. It bad been the early home of many of the 
great lights of the party, and every attempt to dispute 
its authority was regarded as an invasion of sacred rights. 
Indeed, the people were so devoted to the cause of the 
Democracy, that an outspoken Eepublican was held in 
extreme contempt. But in this campaign the " political 
world was moving, and the Democracy were thoroughly 
aroused to the necessity of disputing every inch of ground 
with their Eepublican adversary. The Kepublicans, few 
as they were in number, were equally in earnest, and 
there was hot blood in every quarter. The Democracy 
opened the campaign at Shawneetown with a grand bar- 
becue. It was a great meeting, and was addressed by Gov. 
A. P. Willard of Indiana, John A. Logan, candidate for 
.'Congress, and Lewis W. Ross, candidate for Lieutenant- 
' Governor, m the order in which their names appear. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS, 107 

The speech of Mr. Willard, who at that time was re- 
garded as the ablest and most eloquent champion of the 
Democratic party of the Northwest, was a powerful 
arraignment of the Eepublican party, and it caused many 
of the new converts to waver in their devotion to the 
cause they had so lately espoused, and to have judged 
the situation from the temper of that meeting would 
have been to predict a signal victory for the Democratic 
party. But weak as the Kepublicans were, they were not 
to be overwhelmed by this single blow, and they set them- 
selves about to hold a similar meeting upon the 
identical spot. Preparations were made for a bar- 
becue, and a cordial invitation was extended to the 
people from far and near to be present, and hear Eepub- 
lican principles discussed from a Republican standpoint. 
Eichard Yates, the Eepublican candidate for Governor, 
was positively announced to address the meeting. He 
was then in the very prime of manhood. The Democrats 
were afraid of his power on the stump, and it was deter- 
mined by a few of the most daring of that party, that he 
should be kidnapped, and thus prevent his appearance at 
the meeting. (The writer was then a resident of Galatin 
county, and was one of those who did not wish to hear 
Mr. Yates speak.) He had spoken the day before at Carmi. 
The road on which he was expected to arrive was care- 
fully guarded, and every precaution taken to make sure 
of his capture. An all-night watch was kept up, but in 
an unguarded moment the sentinels slept, and Yates, un- 
conscious of their designs upon his liberty, arrived safely 
■during the night in company with Eobert Kirkham, (now 
Oolonel) and next day he appeared in due time as the 
fearless champion of the Eepublican party. The meeting 
was fully as large as that held by the Democracy, but 
there were comparatively few Eepublicans present. Many 
came through curiosity; others for mischief. Yates had 



108 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

hardly taken his seat on the stand before a series of 
hideous groans rent the air. But when the speaker was 
formally introduced the noise and confusion knew no 
bounds, and it continued until Daniel Jacobs, a life-long 
Democrat, mounted a spring wagon which stood in the 
midst of the throng, and declared in a tone loud enough 
to be heard by all, that the distinguished speaker should 
be heard, or he himself would be taken from the grounds 
a corpse and then and there, announced his abandonment 
of the Democratic party. This bold and daring declara- 
tion brought order out of confusion, when Mr. Yates pro- 
ceeded with his address without further interruption, save 
an occasional question from some of the advanced thinkers 
of the Democratic party as to his position upon the "black 
laws" and negro equality, subjects which were the stock in 
trade- of the Democratic leaders of that section. But time 
brings many changes in politics. Some of the very men 
who were foremost in the effort to break up that meeting 
are now leaders in the Republican party ; and the name 
of Yates is held in dear remembrance by many who heard 
him on that memorable occasion. 

How LovEJOY Helped the Democrats. 

In this campaign, James S. Martin, now General, of Salem, 
was a Democrat, and being anxious to swell the Democratic 
vote of Marion county, he proposed to the Republican lead- 
ers that if they would get up a meeting for Owen Lovejoy, 
that the Democrats would assist in defraying the expenses. 
Relating the circumstance to the writer, he said Lovejoy 
had not proceeded far with his address before the Demo- 
crats became satisfied that they had made a bad invest- 
ment. The speech, said he, was one of the finest he ever 
listened to, and that when referring to the unfortunate 
condition of the down-trodden negro, he brought tears to 
the eyes of strong men whose Democracy was thought to 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 109 

be unflinching, and instead of augmenting the Democratic 
vote, it added new followers to the Eepublican cause. 

Yates and the Kentucky Colonel. 

This anecdote of Gov. Yates comes from an eye-witness : 

After making a speech at Shawneetown, to which refer- 
ence has been made, Yates took a steamer for Evansville, 

Ind. On the boat Col. C , of Kentucky, walked up in 

front of him, and in a haughty and insulting manner said : 

"I heard your speech to-day, sir; you insulted our peo- 
ple, sir ! Now, by Jupiter, I'll let you know I am a Ken- 
tuckian, sir! And, by Jupiter, I will teach you — " 

Yates sprang up without waiting for the end of the sen- 
tence, and exclaimed: 

"And I'll let you know I am a Kentuckian, too, 'by 
Jupiter,' and if you propose to teach me anything, open 
your school right now, sir, and we will see who is master 
in that school !" 

The Kentucky Colonel was not prepared for so much 
ready courage on the part of the Eepublican champion, 
and abruptly left Yates master of the situation, to the 
utter delight of many of the passengers. 

"It Made Our Very Hair Frizzle." 

This amusing incident in the campaign of 1860 has never 
been jn print. The Democracy of Gallatin county adver- 
tised a great meeting at New Market; the presence of 
many eminent speakers had been promised, but to the 
surprise of all, none of them appeared, and their places 
had to be filled by home talent, among which was James 
B. Turner, then a young lawyer of promise, and afterward 
a member of the General Assembly. The burden of Turner's 
speech was against Eicbard Yates, the Eepublican candi- 
date for Governor. His purpose was to show that Yates 
"was in favor of negro equality, and to prove this he cited 
the fact that Yates, when in the Legislature, had favored 



110 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the repeal of the " black laws." "A motion," said he, " had 
been made to lay that bill on the table, and the journals 
showed that Yates had voted in the negative. Now, fellow 
citizens," said Mr. Turner, "I will tell you the effect of a 
motion to lay a bill upon the table. I happen to have 
some little legislative experience ; I happened to be a lobby 
member at the time our gallant and patriotic Stephen A. 
Douglas was re-elected to the United States Senate, and 
I tell you it made our very hair frizzle when the result 
was announced." And here he left the subject, leaving 
his hearers to believe that the effect of a motion to lay a 
bill on the table is "to make the hair frizzle." 



CHAPTER IX. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1861. 



Governor — Eichard Yates, 

Lieutenant-Governor — Francis A. Hoffman. 

Secretary of State — ^0. M. Hatch. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Jesse K. Dubois. 

Treasurer — William Butler. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Gov. Bissell died at Springfield March 15, 1860, when 
Lieut. -Gov. Wood became Governor until the election and 
qualification of Eichard Yates, January 14, 1861. 

Twenty- SECOND General Assembly. 

The Twenty- Second General Assembly convened on Mon- 
day, January 7, and consisted of the following members": 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Ill 



Senate. 



Wm. B. Ogden, Cook. 
Henry W. Blodgett, Lake. 
Zenas Applington, Ogle. 
J. H. Addams, Stephenson. 
Eichard F. Adams, Lee. 
A. W. Mack, Kankakee. 
W. Bushnell, LaSalle. 
Geo. C. Bestor, Peoria. 
T. J. Pickett, Eock Island. 
Wm. Berry, McDonough. 
J. P. Eichmond, Schuyler. 
Austin Brooks, Adams. 
C. L. Higbee, Pike. 



A, L. Knapp, Jersey. 
Wm. Jayne, Sangamon. 
E. J. Oglesby, Macon. 
Henry E. Dummer, Cass. 
Thos. A. Marshall, Coles. 
P. Funkhouser, Effingham. 
Zadok Casey, Jefferson. 
S. A. Buckmaster, Madison. 
W. H. Underwood, St. Clair. 
Hugh Gregg, Williamson. 
Jas. M, Uo igers, Clinton. 
A. J. Kuykendall, Johnson. 



House of Eepresentatives. 



Wm. A. Haoker, Union. 
Wm. H. Green, Massac. 
Jas. J). Pulley, Johnson. 
William Elder, Saline. 
Peter Keifer, Jackson. 

E. Faherty, Eandolph. 
Orson Kellogg, Perry. 
Cloyd Crouch, Hamilton. 
C. W. Webster, Marion. 
James M. Sharp, White. 
Nathan Crews, Wayne. 
H. C. Talbott, Monroe. 
Vital Jarrot, St. Clair. 
Samuel Stookey, St. Clair. 
Joshua P. Knapp, Clinton. 
Cyrus Edwards, Madison. 
G. Crownover, Madison. 

F. H. Stoddard, Fayette. 
Isaac H. Walker, Clay. 
Aaron Shaw, Crawford. 
John Scholfield, Clark. 
Thos. W. Harris, Shelby. 
H. M. Vandeveer, Christian. 
J. T. Pennington, Macoupin. 
John N. English, Jersey. 
Benj. Baldwin, Greene. 

N. B. Stage, Edgar. 

Smith Nfchwls, Coles. 

S. M. Cullom, Sangamon. 



N. M. Broadwell, Sangamon. 
Isaiah Turney, Morgan. 
Albert G. Burr, Scott. 
Wm. E. Archer, Pike. 
Benj. F. DeWitt, Brown. 
J, W. Singleton, Adams. 
W. C. Harrington, Adams. 
Lewis D. Erwin, Schuyler. 
W. H. Eolloson, Hancock. 
S.H. McCandless, M'Donough 
John G. Graham, Fulton. 
S. P. Cummings, Fulton. 
Frederick Eearick, Menard. 
Eobert B, Latham, Logan. 
Lawrence Weldon, DeWitt. 
Samuel G. Craig, Vermilion. 
Harvey Hogg, McLean. 
David Kyes, Tazewell. 
Wm. C. Maley, Warren. 

E. G. Johnson, Peoria. 
Theodore F. Hurd, Stark. 
Henry D. Cook. Woodford. 
A. J. Cropsey, LaSalle. 

J. W. Newport, Grundy. 
V. Vermilyea, Kendall. 
Franklin Blades, Iroquois. 
Samuel Storer, Will. 

F. H. Mather, DuPage. 
Edward E. Allen, DeKalb. 



112 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Thos. S. Terry, Kane. A. A, Hale, Winnebago. 

J. W. Harris, Bureau. S. A. Hurlbut, Boone. 

R. W. Smith, Rock Island. L. 8. Church, McHenry. 

George Ryan, Lee. Elijah M. Haines, Lake. 

Francis A. McNeal, Ogle. J. Y. Scammon, Cook. 

Benj. L. Patch, Carroll. Wm. H. Brown, Cook. 

J. R. Jones, Jo Daviess. S. M. Wilson, Cook. 

*R.H.McClellan, Jo Daviess. Homer Wilmarth, Cook. 

J. F. Ankeny, Stephenson. Arthur A. Smith, Knox. 

The Republicans had a majority in both houses. When 
the Senate met, A. J. Kuykendall was elected temporary 
Chairman, and C. W. Waite Secretary pro tempore, when 
the Senate proceeded to elect permanent officers. Thomas 
A. Marshall was elected Speaker over A. J. Kuykendall 
by a vote of 12 to 9. C. W. Waite was elected Secretary 
over E. S. Dennis, by a vote of 13 to 10. On the quali- 
fication of Mr. Hoffman as Lieutenant-Governor, he became 
Speaker of the Senate. 

Shelby M. CuUom was elected Speaker of the House, 
over James W. Singleton, by a vote 39 to 29. Harley 
Wayne was elected Clerk, over M. B. Harrell, by a vote 
of 40 to 32. 

This was the first time in the history of the State where 
any party, other than the Democratic, had had a majority 
in both branches of the Legislature. In 1855 Mr. Trum- 
bull was elected United States Senator, over Gen. Shields, 
by a fusion of the anti-Kansas-Nebraska Democrats with 
the Whigs, but the Whigs had not the ascendency in 
either house, and the Democrats dominated the legislation 
of the session. 

Of the prominent members, and those to attain promi- 
nence of the two houses, there were among the new mem- 
bers : Ogden, Bushnell, Jayne, Oglesby, Casey, Underwood, 
Kuykendall, Edwards, Shaw, Scholfield, Cullom, Burr, 
Archer, Singleton, Weldon, Blades, Jones, McClellan, 
Haines, Scammon. 

*Vice J. Eussell Jones, resigned. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 113 

Joint resolutions of respect were adopted on the death 
of Gov. Bissell. 

The administration of Mr. Bissell was marked with 
moderation and wisdom, and he gave his undivided atten- 
tion to the discharge of the duties of his trust. He was 
born in New York, April 25, 1811 ; he was self-educated ; 
he studied medicine, and graduated in 1834 at the Medical 
College in Philadelphia ; he removed to Illinois, and after 
practicing his profession until 1840, was elected a Eepre- 
sentative in the Legislature ; he studied law, and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1844 was elected Prosecuting 
Attorney ; he served with distinction in the Mexican war ; 
he was a Kepresentative in Congress from 1849 to 1855. 

On the January 9, the message of Gov. Wood was read in 
the two houses. It showed that there had been paid of 
the State debt, from January, 1857, to January, 1861, 
$2,860,402.49, and that there were in existence one hun- 
dred and ten banks, with a circulation of |12, 320,964. 
Ho recommended legislation which would better secure the 
bill-holder ; advocated the calling of a convention to frame 
a new constitution ; suggested the reorganization of the 
militia, and additional legislation in the interests of the 
public schools. 

Of the conflict of sentiment between the North and the 
South, which was fast ripening into real war, he said : 

"The people of Illinois deem the constitution which 
clasps these States as no temporary bond — to be worn and 
loosed at will — but as an eternal covenant, framed by 
wise and patriotic men, fraught with all our past glory; 
all our present happiness ; all our future hope ; and be- 
queathed as a sacred trust, demanding our unceasing 
efforts for its protection and perpetuation. We can im- 
agine, in the severance of this government, no advantage 
to us, to our countrymen, to humanity, that would in the 
least degree compensate for the flood of evils that must 
pour in upon us in such an event. If grievances to any 
portion of our confederation have arisen within the Union, 



114 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

within the Union let them be redressed. If unconstitu- 
tional laws, trenching upon the guaranteed rights of any 
of our sister States, have found a place upon our statute 
books, let them be removed. If prejudice and alienation 
towards any of our fellow-countrymen has fastened upon 
our minds, let it be dismissed and forgotten. Let us be 
just to ourselves and to each other— allowing neither 
threats to drive us from what we deem to be our duty, 
nor pride of opinion prevent us correcting wherein we may 
have been wrong. Demands are being made, from quar- 
ters entitled to respect, that laws tending to obstruct 
the operation of Federal authority, conflicting with the 
constitutional rights, and jarring upon the feelings of 
other States, should be repealed. If Illinois, either by 
inadvertence or design, has passed any such act, justice 

requires that it should be at once corrected 

Speaking not merely for myself, soon to pass into a pri- 
vate station, but reflecting what I assume to be the voice 
of the whole people of Illinois, irrespective of party, adopt 
the sentiment of President Jackson : 'The Federal Union : 
it must be preserved.'" 

Richard Yates, the incoming Governor, was inaugurated 

on the 14th of January, in the presence of the two houses, 

and read in person his inaugural address. After giving 

attention to the passage of measures relating to the vital 

interests of the State, he addressed himself in this bold 

and patriotic manner to national questions : 

" Whatever may have been the divisions of parties hith- 
erto, the people of Illinois will with one accord give their 
assent and firm support to two propositions : 

" First — That obedience to the Constitution and the 
laws must be insisted upon, and enforced, as necessary to 
the existence of the government. 

" Second — That the election of a Chief Magistrate of the 
Nation, in strict conformity with the Constitution, is no 
sufiicient cause for the release of any State from any of 
its obligations to the Union. 

" This Union cannot be dissolved by one State, nor by 
the people of one State, or of a dozen States. This gov- 
ernment was designed to be perpetual, and can be dissolved 
only by revolution. 

"Can it be for a moment supposed that the people of 
the valley of the Mississippi will ever consent that the 
great river shall flow for hundreds of miles through a 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 115 

foreign jurisdiction, and they be compelled, if not to fight 
their way in the faces of forts frowning upon its banks, 
to submit to the imposition and annoyance of arbitrary 
taxes and exorbitant duties to be levied upon their com- 
merce ? I believe that before that shall come, either shore 
of the Father of Waters will be a continuous sepulchi-e 
of the slain, and with all its cities in ruins, and the cul- 
tivated fields upon its sloping sides laid waste, it shall 
roll its foaming tide in solitary grandeur, as at the dawn 
of creation. I know I speak for Illinois, and I believe for 
the Northwest, when I declare them a unit in the unal- 
terable determination of her millions, occupying the great 
basin drained by the Mississippi, to permit no portion of 
that stream to be controlled by a foreign jurisdiction. 

"As to compromise, if it means that we must outrage 
the sentiment of the civilized world by conceding that 
slavery is a blessing — that we must love and praise it ; 
that we may not hope for its ultimate extinction ; that it 
may go into the free Territories, under the protection of 
the Constitution — if these are the grounds upon which the 
difficulties are to be settled, then they never will be set- 
tled. Plainness and truth require us to say, that the only 
pacification to which the people of this State could accede, 
would be upon the principles upon which Mr. Lincoln 
was elected; that the Constitution must be obeyed, as it 
is ; all its provisions enforced, according to a fair and 
honest interpretation of its meaning; and that slavery is 
a local and State institution, and nothing else. . . . 

" South Carolina, however, claims the right to the forts 
of the United States, and to collect revenue from imports. 
Now, to open the ports of Charleston to free trade is to 
open the whole country to free trade. Merchandise, once 
in the Union, can be transported to any part of the Repub- 
lic. If South Carolina can open one port, she can all ; 
and she is not only sovereign at home, but throughout 
the Nation — a position not soon to be conceded to a State 
which has not so many white inhabitants as one of the 
Congressional districts in the State of Illinois. Now, if 
South Carolina disunionists shall be guilty of the stupen- 
dous madness of resisting the United States officers in the 
collection of the revenue, can there be any doubt that the 
Government will have to use as much force as is neces- 
sary to enforce these laws? If Gen. Washington, at the 
head of the United States Army in 1796, put down the 
Pennsylvania whisky rebellion ; if Gen. Jackson, in 1832, 
quelled resistance to law by his proclamation of force ; if 



116 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Mr, Fillmore executed the Fugitive Slave Law at the point 
of the bayonet in the streets of Boston ; if Mr. Buchanan, 
in 1859, called out the United States Army to put down 
the seizure of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, what shall 
be done with those who defiantly obstruct the execution 
of tlie laws at Charleston ? If the laws are not executed, 
then the Government is a failure. 

" I know not what the exigencies of the future may be, 
nor what remedies it may be necessary to use, but the 
administration of the incoming President, I have no doubt, 
will be characterized by wisdom as well as firmness. He 
certainly will not forget that the people of all the United 
States, whether loyal or not, are citizens of the same 
Republic, component parts of the same integral Union. 
He never will forget, so long as he remembers his official 
oath, that the whole material of the Government — moral, 
political and physical, if need be — must be employed to 
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States. In such an event as this, I hesitate not to say 
that the General Assembly, without a dissenting voice, 
and the people of Illinois, would unanimously pledge the 
men and means of the State to uphold the Constitution 
and preserve the Union. To those who would distrust the 
loyalty of the American people to the Union, let the spon- 
taneous response of the National heart, borne upon ten 
thousand streams of lightning to the heroic Anderson, 
answer." 

The two houses met in joint session January 10, and 
re-elected Lyman Trumbull United States Senator, over 
Samuel S. Marshall, by a vote of 54 to 46. 

Among the more important measures enacted by this 
Legislature, were acts to protect married women in their 
separate property against the debts of their husbands ; to 
encourage mining; to foster public schools; to authorize 
and facilitate the payment of certain scrip, coupons, cer- 
tificates and other evidences of State indebtedness; to 
provide for the payment of interest on the State debt ; to 
prevent illegal voting ; to provide for calling a convention 
to amend the Constitution. A joint resolution was passed 
relating to the appointment of peace commissioners at 
Washington; resolutions of respect on the death of Gov. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 117 

Bissell, and resolutions relating to Federal Relations, in 
which it was declared that, although the people of Illinois 
did not desire any change in the Federal Constitution, 
yet, as several of the sister States had deemed it neces- 
sary that some amendments should be made thereto, that 
if the application should be made to Congress by any of 
the States deeming themselves aggrieved, to call a con- 
vention in accordance with the constitutional provision to 
propose amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States, that the Legislature of Illinois would concur in 
making such application, but it was further declared, 
"that until the people of these United States shall other- 
wise direct, the present Federal Union must be preserved 
as it is, and the present Constitution and laws must be 
administered as they are ; and, to this end, in conformity 
with that Constitution and the laws, the whole resources 
of the State of Illinois are hereby pledged to the Federal 
authorities." 

Special Session. 
The members of this General Assembly had hardly 
returned to their homes and become settled in their ordi- 
nary vocations of life, before they were convened in 
extraordinary session, to pass measures to aid the Nation 
in preserving its life. On the 14th of April, the rebels 
fired upon Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, and com- 
pelled its surrender, whereupon President Lincoln issued 
his proclamation calling for 75,000 soldiers to put down 
the insurrection, and repossess and preserve the property 
of the government. Gov. Yates convened the General 
Assembly on the 23d of April, for the purpose of passing 
such laws as might be deemed necessary to place the 
State in a condition to render effective assistance to the 
General Government in preserving the Union, enforcing 
the laws, and protecting the property and rights of the 
people. His message to the assembly was full of stirring 



118 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

patriotism, and filled every loyal heart with gladness. 
The sword, said he, was drawn not in a spirit of revenge, 
but clearly and unmistakably in self-defense and for the 
preservation of the Union. Eeferring to the public senti- 
ment of the people of the North prior to the assault upon 
Tort Sumter, and the consequences to follow, he said : 

" Public sentiment was everywhere, in the free States, 
for peace and compromise. No better proof could be re- 
quired, than the facts I have stated, that the conspiracy, 
which has now assumed such formidable dimensions, and 
which is threatening the destruction of the fairest fabric of 
human wisdom and human liberty, is of long standing, and is 
wholly independent of the election of a particular person 
to the Presidential office, than the manner in which the 
seceded States have acted toward their loyal brethren of 
the South and North since they have entered upon their 
criminal enterprise. We must do them, however, the jus- 
tice to say, that all their public documents and all the 
speeches of their controlling leaders candidly admit that 
the Presidential election has not been the cause for their 
action, and that they were impelled by far different 
motives. 

" So forbearing and pacific has been the policy of the 
Federal Government — anxiously hoping for a return to 
reason in the minds of our Southern brethren — that they 
were suffered to erect their batteries in the jaws of our 
guns at Sumter, finally losing to us that strong fortress, 
by the most unexampled forbearance and reluctance to 
the shedding the blood of our countrymen ; and a simple at- 
tempt, on the part of our constitutional Government, to 
provision a starving garrison in one of our ports, of which 
the revolutionary authorities had received official notice 
from the Government, has been made the occasion for a 
destructive bombardment of that fort. Overpowered by 
numbers, our gallant men had to lower our glorious flag, 
and surrender on terms dictated by rebels. 

" The spirit of a free and brave people is aroused at 
last. Upon the first call 'of the constitutional Government 
they are rushing to arms. Fully justified in the eyes of 
the world and in the light of history, they have resolved to 
save the Government of our fathers, to preserve the Union 
so dear to a thousand memories and promising so much 
of happiness to them and their children, and to bear aloft 
the flag which for eighty-five years had gladdened the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 119 

iiearts of the struggling free on every continent, island 
and sea under the whole heavens. Our own noble State, 
as of yore, has responded in a voice of thunder. The 
entire mass is alive to the crisis. If, in Mexico, our 
Hardin, and Shields, and Bissell, and Baker, and their 
;gallant comrades, were found closest to their colors, and 
in the thickest of the fight, and shed imperishable lustre 
upon the fame and glory of Illinois, now that the struggle 
is for our very nationality, and for the stars and stripes, 
her every son will be a soldier and bare his breast to the 
5torm of battle. 

" The attack upon Fort Sumter produced a most start- 
ling transformation on the Northern mind — awakened a 
sleeping giant, and served to show, as no other event in 
all the history of the past ever did, the deep-seated fer- 
vor and affection with which our whole people regard our 
glorious Union. Party distinctions vanished, as a mist, 
in a single night, as if by magic ; and parties and party 
platforms were swept as a morning dream from the minds 
■of men, and now men of all parties, by thousands, are 
begging for places in the ranks. The blood of twenty mil- 
lions of freemen boils, with cauldron heat to replace our 
national flag upon the very walls whence it was insulted, 
and by traitor hands pulled down. Every village and 
hamlet resounds with beat of drum and clangor of arms. 
Three hundred thousand men wait the click of the wires 
for marching orders, and all the giant energies of the 
Northwest are at the command of the Government. Those 
who have supposed that the people of the free States will 
not fight for the integrity of the Union, and that they 
will suffer another government to be carved out of the 
boundaries of this Union, have hugged a fatal delusion 
to their bosoms, for our people will wade through seas of 
blood before they will see a single star or a solitary stripe 
erased from the glorious flag of our Union. 

" The services already tendered me, in my efforts to 
organize troops, provide means, arms and provisions, by 
■distinguished members of the party hitherto opposed to 
me in political sentiments, are beyond all praise, and are, 
by me, in behalf of the State, most cheerfully acknowledged. 
There are now more companies received than are needed 
under the Presidential call, and almost unlimited numbers 
have formed and are forming, awaiting further orders. 
A single inland county (LaSalle) tenders nine full com- 
panies, and our principal city (Chicago) has responded 
■with contributions of men and money worthy of her f-\ me 



120 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

for public spirit and patriotic devotion. Nearly a million 
of money lias been offered to the State, as a loan, by our 
patriotic capitalists and other private citizens, to pay the 
expenses connected with the raising of our State troops, 
and temporarily providing for them. 

" Civil war, it must be confessed, is one of the greatest 
calamities which can befall a people. And such a war ! 
It is said 'when Greek meets Greek then comes the tug 
of war.' When American shall meet American — whea 
the fiery, impetuous valor of the South shall come in con- 
tact with the cool, determined bravery of the North, then 
blood will flow to the horses' bridles. Would that the 
calamity might be averted ! But the destruction of our 
government is a far greater evil. A government which 
is the hope of the world — promising more of happiness to 
us and our children and the millions who are to come 
after us, and to the struggling free in every land, than 
any government ever invented by man, must not, shall not 
he destroyed. 

" A government that submits to peaceable secession signs- 
its own death warrant. What would be left of our 
Union? No matter how many States it might for the 
present still comprise — this would give us not a moment's 
guarantee against further dissolution, if the right to secede 
once were peaceably tolerated. Government is established 
for the protection of rights and property, and when built 
upon the principle of voluntary dissolution, it ceases to 
furnish that protection ; it ceases to be a government under 
which national men can live. 

" We draw the sword then, not in a spirit of in- 
dignation or revenge, but clearly and unmistakably in self- 
defense, and in the protection of our rights, our liberty 
and security, for property — in a word, for the nearest and 
dearest interests of ourselves and our posterity. I have 
thus spoken, because an impression may still prevail in the 
minds of some, that this conflict was one of our own seek- 
ing, and one which might have been avoided without any 
imminent danger to the yet loyal parts of the country. 
This is not so. Secession has hrouglit about its inevitable 
results, and ice must crush it and treason, wherever they 
raise their unsightly heads, or perish ourselves. 

"And now, as we love our common country, in all its 
parts, with all its blessings of climate and culture ; its 
mountains, valleys and streams ; as we cherish its history 
and the memory of the world's only Washington; as we 
love our free civilization, striking its roots deep down into 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 121 

those principles of truth and justice eternal as God ; as we 
love our government so free, our institutions so noble, our 
boundaries so broad ; as we love our grand old flag, 'sign 
of the free heart's only home,' that is cheered and hailed 
in every sea and haven of the world, let us resolve that 
we will preserve that Union and those institutions, and 
that there shall be no peace till the traitorous and bloody 
palmetto shall be hurled from the battlements of Sumter, 
and the star-spangled banner in its stead wave defiantly 
in the face of traitors, with every star and every stripe 
flaming from all its ample folds. 

" Gentlemen, I commend the destiny of our noble and 
gallant State, in this its hour of peril, to your wise and 
patriotic deliberations, and prudent and determinate action. 
May the God of our fathers, who guided our Washington 
throughout the trying scenes of the Kevolution, and gave 
to our fathers strength to build up our sacred Union, and 
to frame a government which has been the center of our 
affections and the admiration of the world, be still with 
us, and preserve our country from destruction. 

"In the firm belief that we are in the hands of a Su- 
preme ruling power, whose will is wisdom, let us manfully 
maintain our rights, and our Constitution and Union, to 
the last extremity. Let us so act that our children and 
children's children, when we are laid in the dust, will 
hold us in grateful remembrance, and will bless our mem- 
ories, as we do now bless the heroes and patriots who 
achieved our independence, and transmitted to us the 
priceless heritage of American liberty." 

On the 25th of April, Senator Douglas, in response to 
a joint resolution, addressed the assembly in the hall of 
the House of Eepresentatives on the issues of the hour. 
The hall was filled to overflowing, and the speech was the 
bravest and best of all the great efforts of that gifted and 
patriotic statesman, from which a liberal extract will be 
found in a subsequent chapter. 

The two houses proceeded without circumlocution to trans- 
act the business for which they had been called together, 
and adjourned on the 3d of May, being in session only 
ten days ; and returning home, many of the members vol- 
unteered in defense of their country's flag. 



122 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER X. 
SECESSION-PROSECUTION OF THE WAR, 



Extracts from Speeches of Senator Trumbull and Eepresentative MeCler- 
nand. Delivered in the Senate and House. January, 1861— Extracts from 
War Speeches made by Owen Lovejoy, J. F. Farnsworth and Isaac N. 
Arnold,* at Chicago, August 8, 18(i2. 



Speech of Lyman Trumbull. 

"Mr. President — It has been very hard for me, and, I 
•doubt not, my Eepubhcan associates around me, to bear 
the many misapprehensions, not to say misstatements, of 
our position, and to see a perverted state of facts day 
after day urged upon the Senate and the country by gen- 
tlemen upon the other side. We have listened to the 
Senator from Mississippi; and one would suppose, in listen- 
ing to him here, that he was a friend of this Union, that 
he desired the perpetuity of this Government. He has a 
most singular way of preserving it, and a most singular 
way of maintaining the Constitution. What is it ? Why, 
he proposes that the Government should abdicate. If it 
will simply withdraw its forces from Charleston, and abdi- 
•cate in favor either of a mob or of the constituted authori- 
ties of Charleston, we will have peace ! He dreads civil 
war, and he will avoid it by a surrender ! He talks as if 
Ave Eepublicans were responsible for civil war if it ensues. 
If civil war comes, it comes from those with whom he is 
acting. W^ho proposes to make civil war but South Caro- 
lina? Who proposes to make civil war but Mississippi, 
and Alabama, and Georgia, seizing, by force of arms, 
upon the public property of the United States? Talk to 
us of making civil war ! You inaugurate it, and then talk 
of it as if it came from the friends of the Constitution 
and the Union. Here stands this great Government ; here 
stands the Union — a pillar, so to speak, already crested. 

* Mr. Arnold died at Chicago, his home, op Thursday, April 24, 1884— 
■while this book was passing through the press. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 123 

Do we propose to pull it down? Do we propose under- 
mining the foundations of the Constitution or disturbing 
the Union ? Not at all ; but the proposition comes from 
the other side. They are making war, and modestly ask 
us to have peace by submitting to what they ask. 

"It is nothing but rebellion; it is nothing but insurrec- 
tion. But not only in South Carolina, where there was 
the pretense of secession to justify the act, which, I think, 
really amounts to nothing, but in Georgia and Alabama, 
which have not seceded, we are told that the public 
property of the United States has been seized ; and the 
Senator from Mississippi thinks the best way to avoid 
<3ivil war is for the United States to withdraw their forces, 
to surrender their forts, and strike the flag under which 
he was nurtured, and beneath which he has marched so 
often. The Stars and Stripes have been taken down from 
the United States buildings in the city of Charleston, and 
trampled in the dust, and a palmetto flag with a snake, 
reared in their place; but if we would avoid civil war, we 
are told, we must submit to this ! Why, sir, any people 
can have peace at the price of degradation. No despot 
makes war upon subjects who submit their necks to the 
tread of his heel. But if we would maintain constitu- 
tional liberty ; if we would maintain constitutional freedom ; 
if we would maintain this great Government, we must not 
suffer every faction, and every mob, and every State, that 
thinks proper, to trample its flag under foot 

" Sir, it is clear to my mind that this doctrine of seces- 
sion is utterly destructive of a constitutional government. 
On the same principle, a county may secede from a State, 
and a town from a county. The Senator from Kentucky 
(Mr. Crittenden) has been talking about compromises, and 
has introduced a string of resolutions here. When they 
are adopted, what is your Government good for? What 
is to prevent the State of Illinois next week, or the State 
of Kentucky the following week, from seceding, as South 
Carolina has done, and demanding new guarantees as a 
condition of the existence of the Union? By submitting 
to this doctrine, you destroy the stability of the Govern- 
ment. Constitutional governments are worth nothing if 
this doctrine is to obtain ; and hence it is that those of 
lis who are for sustaining the Constitution and sustaining 
the Union, believe that the question involved is the existence 
of constitutional government. We now have nothing to do 
with the extension of African slavery — that is not the 



124 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

question before the American people ; but the question is, 
'Has this Government any power to protect itself?' In 
other words, have we a Government at all? That is 
what is to be tested. The people of Illinois believe we 
have a Government, and a Government that has power 
to maintain itself, not by makiug civil war, but by enforc- 
ing the laws, and defending itself against those who would 
make war upon it. 

"But, sir, what is the cause of this complaint? Why 
is it that the Southern States are inaugurating civil war ? 
I have as much horror for it as the Senator from Missis- 
sippi. I would do anything honorable to avoid it. I 
certainly will not be the instrument to inaugurate it. But 
what is it the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Davis) com- 
plains of? To use his language, he says, if you are to 
make us hewers of wood and drawers of water for you in 
the North, we will not submit. If they are to be reduced 
to subjection to the North, they will not submit. I do 
not ask them to do so. So far as I am concerned, I will 
ask them to submit to nothing that I will not submit to 
myself. I ask to impose no inequality upon the State of 
Mississippi. 

" Now, sir, my idea of preserving the peace of this 
country, and of the duty which is devolved upon us here, 
is not what we should yield, as the Senator from Missis- 
sippi suggests, to the threats and demands of States which 
say that they want no compromise, and want no conces- 
sions, and are determined to set up for themselves, and 
expel the Federal Government from their borders ; but 
that we should rally around the Constitution, and enforce 
the laws under it ; and then, not when States come here 
threatening civil war, not when our vessels are hred into, 
not when our forts are taken possession of, but when the 
States all acknowledge themselves within the Union, and 
under the Constitution, if there are any grievances, let 
them be removed. Then, if there is anything wrong in the 
Constitution, let us amend it according to the mode pro- 
vided in the instrument. I do not believe that we shall 
better the Constitution by any amendment which may be 
made to it 

"But, sir, I did not intend making any lengthened re- 
marks, but only to reply in a few words to what I thought 
to be the false assumptions of Senators on the other side 
as to this whole controversy. I shall not take up the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 125 

iime of the Senate by going into any lengthened argu- 
ment, but will state in a few words what I suppose to be 
our duty here ; and that is, in the first place, to endeavor 
to maintain the Constitution and the laws as we have 
them. When the attack is made by the seceding States, 
or by mobs in the Southern States, upon the constituted 
authorities, there can be no doubt as to our duty in sach 
a case. I was saying, when interrupted, that the North 
was not disposed to make any encroachments upon the 
South. I was saying that even this Fugitive Slave Law 
would most likely be better executed under Mr. Lincoln's 
Administration than under Mr. Buchanan's, and was giving 
some reasons for this opinion. We know that Mr. Lin- 
coln, in his public speeches, has said that so long as this 
statute stands, objectionable as it may be, he would con- 
sider it his duty to have it executed. He has said, further, 
that in his opinion the slave owners were entitled, under 
the Constitution, to a reasonable law to reclaim their run- 
away slaves ; and he has said that he would not object 
to any law for that purpose which was not more likely to 
enslave a free man, than your common criminal laws are 

to punish an innocent one 

"I do not desire to engage the Senator from Kentucky 
in a discussion at this time, but simply to call his atten- 
tion to the compromise of 1850, and see if we do not 
stand in a better position, just as we are, than by attempt- 
ing to patch up some new compromise. For my life, I 
cannot see the occasion for all this agitation in the coun- 
try, and for States threatening to go out of the Union, 
unless it be simply the fact that the Kepublican party 
has, in the constitutional mode, elected its candidate for 
the Presidency. That is all I can see. Inasmuch as we 
have not been in power, we certainly have done nothing; 
and although Senators who say they love the Union wdl 
pick out an isolated passage from Mr, Lincoln's speeches, 
or from the speeches of some extreme man, and reiterate 
it over and over again, as if further to inflame the public 
mind ; still, when you come back and look at the public 
course of the President elect, at his avowed opinions, at 
the platform upon which he is elected, you will find noth- 
ing that interferes in the least with the rights of the 
South; nothing that denies the equality of the States; 
nothing that denies the equality of any individual from 
any of the States in the common territories of the United 
States." 



126 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Speech of John A. McClernand. 

"Mr. Chairman — When an impending danger can be no 
longer stayed or averted, is it not the part of wisdom and 
duty to meet, and, if possible, overcome it ? Such, I think, 
is a sound canon of statesmanship. Acting on this belief, 
I propose rather brietiy, to deal with the question of seces- 
sion now actually upon us. 

"First, I deny the constitutional right of any State to 
secede from the Union ; second, I deprecate the exercise 
of any such assumed right as a measure of revolution, 
which in the present case, must embroil the country in a 
sanguinary and wasting civil war." 

"Let me not be misunderstood. I do not desire war. 
I would avoid it by all honorable means, particularly a 
civil war between any of the States of this Union. Such 
a war would be fratricidal, unnatural, and most bloody. 
It would be a war between States equally jealous of their 
honor, and men equally brave. I would forfeit my own 
self-respect if I would disparage the courage of my breth- 
ren, either of the North or the South; for courage is the 
distinction of neither, but the virtue of both. The only 
difference between them is, that the man of the South fights 
from impetuosity, the man of the North from purpose, 
and the man of the West from a restless spirit of adven- 
ture. Myself, a Kentuckian by birth, and an Illinoisan by 
nurture and education, I would deplore such a war as the 
greatest calamity that could befall the country ; yet, as a 
practical man, and a representative of the people, I must 
not shut my eyes to the logic of the cause and effect — 
to the popular instinct of self-preservation." 

"Let us all — let all conservative men of all parties and 
of all sections, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the 
Gulf of Mexico to the far lakes — rally in favor of the in- 
tegrity of the Constitution and the Union. Let them 
merge the partisan in the patriot, and, coming up to the 
altar of their country, generously sacrifice every angry 
feeling and ambitious aim for the welfare and glory of 
that country. Let no man, whether he be Democrat, Repub- 
lican, or American, refuse to yield something of his opinions 
and prepossessions in deference to others, and the higher 
claims of patriotism. All government, all authority, all 
human life, is a compromise. Christianity itself is a com- 
promise between justice and mercy — between disobedience 
and its predoomed punishment. Let us, therefore, in a 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 127 

spirit of conciliation and concession, compromise our exist- 
ing differences upon just and equitable terms; let us all 
do this for the good of all. Oar fathers set us such an. 
example in the formation of the Federal Constitution ; and 
why cannot we follow it as the condition of preserving 
and perpetuating that sacred instrument ? To do so would 
be no discredit or disparagement to any one, but an honor 
to all. The people, posterity, and future history, in the 
name of freedom and humanity, call for it. 

" Personally, I would prefer compromise upon the basis 
o! non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the States, 
in the Territories, and in the District of Columbia. My 
own choice would be, to leave the people of the States 
and Territories, each to decide for themselves, whether they 
would or would not have slavery, and what should be the 
character of their other local institutions. This would be 
my choice, but if such a settlement is unacceptable to the 
majority, then I am willing to forego my strong objections 
to a geographical line, and adopt the plan of adjustment 
recommended by a committee of the members from the 
border States, which is familiar to the members of the 
House, and which, as the peace offering of conservative 
men, would no doubt meet the approbation of the great 
mass of the people, a plan which I understand my dis- 
tinguished friend from Arkansas (Mr. Eust) is prepared 
to bring before the House on the first opportunity." 

Speech of Owen Lovejoy. 

" So far as the question of argument is concerned, it 
has been exhausted. A son does not argue or appeal to 
decide as to the propriety of killing the assassin of his 
mother ; neither do the sons of the republic need long- 
winded arguments to induce them to put down this ac- 
cursed rebellion. We want men, not speeches ; men with 
muskets in their hands, not hurrahs from their throats. 
I have but little reputation as a conservative man, so far 
as I have been informed. Some people go so far as to say 
I am slightly tinctured with fanaticism in my views of 
the slavery question. For myself, I claim to be a sort of 
an anointed prophet of the Lord. I have faith in God, 
and next to Him, in the American people. Let us not 
fall into the error of the man who, standing by the side 
of a bayou or arm of the sea, and witnessing the ebb of 
the tide, exclaimed that the sea was becoming dry land 
again. Eather let us say that behind and beyond the 



128 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

temporary reverses now afflicting us, there will come up 
the great uprising of popular patriotism, which in its cer- 
tain flood, shall cover with its proper element and spirit 
the ground lost in those temporary reverses. 

"It is not for any of us to say that during the trying 
emergency in which we are at present placed, he 
could manage the ship of State more satisfactorily than 
the one who is now at the helm. Let us each seize a 
rope and do what we can to prevent its destruction. This 
is common sense. I call it good common sense for a 
'fanatic' We must preserve the Nation; we must pre- 
serve it intact from rebels at home, or foreign interven- 
tion. We must not allow French intervention in Mexico. 
Neither must we allow a descendant of that old British 
tyrant, George the Third, to plant his throne in Southern 
soil within the boundaries of the Eepublic. We must 
therefore defend our soil if every foot of the domain is 
consecrated with the blood of a slain hero. We must 
preserve our nationality, and for myself, I don't want to sur- 
vive the permanent dismemberment of these United States. 
I had a thousand times rather lay down my life on the 
battle field than outlive such a dreadful event. I don't 
know what God wills, but I have a shrewd suspicion that 
He wills what roe will. The maintenance of the Govern- 
ment and the perpetuity of the Union are a necessity. 
What ! consent to a dismemberment ? Suppose we allow 
the confederates to secede, what do we gain? We gain 
a confederacy more despotic than any monarchy of Europe. 
With Canada on the north, and this hated Southern Con- 
federacy on the south, with all the power and hate of 
England to back her, we are ground to powder between 
the upper and nether mill-stone. 

"How is our nationality to be preserved? By every 
man, woman and child consecrating themselves to the great 
work till the rebellion is suppressed. This is a matter 
that cannot be settled by resolutions or meetings, nor 
ballots ; it's got beyond that ; it's bayonets and bullets now. 
War has hardly touched us yet in the great Northwest; 
it has not yet laid upon us its bloody hand, that we feel 
its withering, blighting curse. We must buy and sell and 
conduct our business as usual, but the one grand idea 
must ever be prominent— the suppression of this rebellion. 
We must make this war the great business of our lives 
till it is ended." 



politics and politicians of illinois. 129 

Speech of John F. Faknsworth. 

"They have massed an immense army, and are ifight- 
ing with a desperation we have not evinced. Until we have 
the same spirit, we shall not conquer them. When we 
seize all agencies, as they do, we shall conquer, and that 
right speedily. The rebels have got their last large army. 
Every man has been compelled to take arms and light in 
the Iront of the rebels. When we do this, rebel dom will 
be put down. The people of the North are getting over 
their tender-footed conservatism which has sacrificed too 
many lives dear to your firesides. My friends, there is at 
this moment, in the Southern States, an army of men 
equal to our entire army in numbers. They are our 
friends. They will work for us, and fight for us, if you 
will but say the word. You are allowing them now to cul- 
tivate corn and wheat to feed your enemy. You are let- 
ting them work in the trenches and build fortifications 
against you. The entire element is ready — and I speak 
from my knowledge — is ready to act, and work, and fight 
for you. A rebel throat is none too good to be cut by a 
black man. I find in Virginia; that the only reliable, 
truthful men from whom we can obtain information about 
the rebel armies, their roads and their scouts, were in the 
poor hovels of the negro. Using all the skill and expe- 
rience I have had as a lawyer, I have questioned white 
men, and when I had done, some old negro, too old to 
bear arms, would nod to me to meet him behind the 
barn, and would tell me 'massa lied,' and W'Ould impart 
to me information which subsequent experience proved 
true. I have never known them to tell an untruth to me. 
I want to see an expression go forth from this meeting, 
lifting up the hands of the President and Cabinet for using 
every agency we can lay our hands upon. The voice of 
the people is the voice of God. It is authoritntive with 
statesmen and generals. That voice, I trust, will be heard. 
I hope the fruits of this meeting will be felt. I hope it 
will not be an exodus for the accumulated gas of speeches. 
Organize your companies and train them at home for any 
emergency which may occur. I want to see the wealthy 
merchants, who own these large buildings, the well-to-do 
lawyers and thriving physicians come down with the sinews 
of war to aid the men who are fighting the battles of the 
stay-at-homes. I see before me at least two regiments of 
men. What are you doing here ? You've all got your little 
property at stake. Put your names on the muster roll." 
—9 



130 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Speech of Isaac N. Arnold. 

" Starting from the Nation's capital, all along through 
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, 
you see a vast uprising of the people, with a fixed, stern 
determination, at any cost, to crush out this vast rebellion. 
But it is in the Northwest, and in this great city of the 
Northwest, that the zeal and energy of patriotism is most 
active and all-pervading. 

" Illinois is meriting for herself and her children a glo- 
rious record. She had won distinguished honors in the 
Mexican war. Bissell and Hardin had associated their 
names and the name of Illinois with Palo Alto and Buena 
Vista ; but in this far more glorious war, in which the 
faithful fights for his country against rebels and traitors, 
far more cruel and barbarous than Mexican guerillas, 
Illinois covered herself with glory. The bones of her sons 
lie scattered on every battle-field in the valley of the Mis- 
sissippi. With more than 60,000 of her gallant sons in 
the field, the President, whom Illinois has given to the 
Nation, calls for more troops. 

" Illinois springs to the rescue. Her commercial capital 
speaks to-day in a voice which will thrill the Nation. The 
Northwest is ready. As a citizen of this city, I claim to- 
day to express my thanks to the Board of Trade. You 
have done nobly, and your efforts will tell in all the 
Northwest, and be felt throughout the loyal States, and I 
doubt not the gallant soldiers you raise will be felt among 
the barbarians in arms against our country. 

" Every great war has underlying it a great idea. What 
is the great idea which gives impulse and motive power 
to this war? It is our nationality. The grand idea of a 
great continental republic, ocean bounded, and extending 
from the lakes to the gulf, commanding the respect of the 
world, is an idea implanted deeply in the American heart, 
and it is one for which every American patriot will fight, 
and if necessary die. Nowhere is this sentiment stronger 
than in the Northwest. With one hand we clasp the 
East, and with the other the Northwest will grip the 
South, and we will hold this Union together. We will not 
see this grand republic split up into contemptible Mexican 
provinces — always fighting and destroying each other. 
Incident to this idea of nationality — and becoming every 
day stronger — is another, that this grand republic must 
be all free, filled with one great, free population. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 131 

" The suicide of slavery is being enacted before our eyes. 
Let the cursed, barbarous, traitor-breeding institution die. 
The slave-holder has himself given to it the mortal wound ; 
let no timid Northern dough-face attempt to staunch the 
blood. The end of slavery will prove the regeneration of 
the Nation. 

" Liberal bounty is offered to the gallant volunteer. I 
wish to state a fact which may not be generally known. 
The Congress just adjourned provided by law that all our 
foreign-born soldiers should become the adopted children 
of the Eepublic; he who fights for the flag shall be im- 
mediately a citizen. We could not do less for the gallant 
Germans, the countrymen of Sigel, and Osterhaus, and 
Willich, — for the brave Irishmen, who, under Meagher, 
and Shields, and Mulligan, are fighting for the old flag. 
To every Irishman I would say, remember Corcoran, and 
rally to his rescue. 

" Who shall pay the cost of this war ? Let us quarter 
on the enemy, confiscate the property, and free the slaves 
of rebels." 



CHAPTER XI. 
BEFORE THE CONFLICT. 



Lincoln's Departure for Washington— Farewell Words at Springfield— 
Speech at Cincinnati— Inaugural Message— Resignation of Southern 
Senators and Kepresentatives- Vulgar Cartoon of Lincoln by Harper's 
Weekly. 



The politicians of the slave States, as we have before 
shown, had, for forty years, sounded the disunion cry 
whenever the National Government had manifested any 
disposition not to comply with their every demand; and 
now that the North had elected, as they termed it, an 
Abohtionist, President, there was concert of action among 
those States in putting that oft-repeated threat into exe- 
cution, and without waiting to consult the newly elected 



1S2 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Chief Magistrate as to his feelings or intentions regarding 
the policy he would pursue, and while they held the con- 
trolling power in both branches of Congress and the Supreme 
Court, twelve of the slave States had passed ordinances of 
secession, and on ihe 4th day of February, four days before 
the President- elect had left Springfield for Washington, 
they met at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed the so- 
called Southern Confederacy, with slavery as its chief 
corner stone. This was followed by active preparations 
for war. Buchanan's Administration had permitted the 
firing upon the Star of the West, which carried supplies 
to Fort Sumter, to pass without redress, and State after 
State to secede without offering the slightest protest. In- 
deed, the President had expressed in his last annual mes- 
sage the remarkable opinion, that " no power has been 
delegated to coerce into submission a State that is attempt- 
ing to withdraw, or has entirely withdrawn, from the Con- 
federacy." This singular conduct on the part of the 
outgoing administration, and the extraordinary proceeding 
of the seceded States in setting up a government for 
themselves, created a widespread feeling of alarm among 
the law-abiding citizens of the North ; and Mr. Lincoln, 
himself, was evidently deeply agitated as to what would 
be the finality of the momentous issue, and the grave 
responsibilities he was so soon to assume weighed heavily 
upon his mind. He felt that the temple of liberty, founded 
more than three-quarters of a century before, was being 
shaken from center to circumference, and the absorbing 
thought of his great mind was, how should he prevent the 
temple from falling to pieces, and yet, at the same time, 
preserve the rights and liberties of the people. 

On the day he left Springfield, February 11, many of 
his personal and political friends had assembled at the 
depot to give him a loving farewell, and in bidding them 
adieu, for the last time — for he was never in Springfield 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 133 

again, alive — he addressed them in this feeling and pathetic 

manner : 

" My Fkiends — No one, not in my position, can appre- 
ciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I 
owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quar- 
ter of a century, here my children were born, and here 
one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I will see 
you again. A duty devolves upon me which is perhaps 
greater than that which has rested upon any other man 
since the day of ^yashington. He would never have suc- 
ceeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, on which 
he at all times relied. I feel that I can not succeed with- 
out the same Divine aid which sustained him. On the 
same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support; 
and I hope you, my friends, will pray that I may receive 
that Divine assistance, without which I can not succeed, 
but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you all 
an affectionate farewell." 

Beaching Cincinnati, he was called out for a speech, and 

being m the vicinity of Kentucky, one of the slave States, 

and doubtless with many slave-holders as his hearers, he 

took occasion to advert, briefly but with perfect frankness, 

to the policy he should pursue towards those States. We 

quote his language, as it appeared in the pubhc prints of 

that day: 

"I have spoken but once before in Cincinnati. That 
was a year previous to the late Presidential election. On 
that occasion, in a playful manner, but with sincere words, 
I addressed much of what I said to the Kentuckians. I 
gave my opinion that we as Republicans would ultimately 
beat them as Democrats, but that they could postpone the 
result longer by nominating Senator Douglas for the Presi- 
dency, than in any other way. They did not in any true 
sense nominate Mr. Douglas, and the result has certainly 
come as soon as ever I expected. I told them how I expected 
they would be treated after they should be beaten, and I 
now wish to call their attention to what I then said. When 
beaten, you perhaps will want to know what we will do 
with you. I will tell you, so far as I am authorized to 
speak for the opposition. We mean to treat you as near 
as we possibly can as Washington, Jefferson and Madison 
treated you. We mean to leave you alone, and in no way 
interfere with your institutions. We mean to recognize 



134 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and bear in mind that you have as good hearts in your 
bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and 
treat you accordingly. Fellow-citizens of Kentucky, 
brethren may I call you, in my new position I see no 
occasion and feel no inclination to retract a word from 
this. If it shall not be made good, be assured the fault 
shall not be mine." 

We will not follow him through his travels to the Na- 
tional capital, further than to say, that in order to reach 
that city in safety he was compelled to change his plans, 
as to his passage through Baltimore, lest he should be 
assassinated. 

His inaugural message had been prepared with great 
care, and addressed itself to the sober, second-thought of 
the people of all the States. The platform on which he 
had made the race for President, and which was still 
fresh in the minds of the people, was utterly thrown 
aside, and in concluding this, his first state paper, he 
addressed himself, in this language, directly to his dis- 
satisfied countrymen: 

"Apprehensions seem to exist among the people of the 
Southern States that by the accession of a Eepublican 
administration their property and their peace and per- 
sonal security are to be endangered. There has never 
been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. In- 
deed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all 
the while existed, and have been open to their inspection. 
It is found in nearly all the public speeches of him who 
now addresses you. I consider that, in view of the Con- 
stitution and laws, the Union is unbroken, and to the ex- 
tent of my ability I will take care, as the Constitution 
expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union 
be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this, I 
deem it only a simple duty on my part, and I shall 
perform it, so far as possible, unless my rightful 
masters, the American people, shall withhold the requi- 
site means, or shall, in some other authoritative manner, 
direct the contrary. Physically speaking, we can not sepa- 
rate. We cannot move the respective sections from each 
other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A 
husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the 
presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the 



•POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 135 

different parts of our country cannot do this. They can not 
but remain face to face, and intercourse, either amicable 
or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, 
then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or 
more satisfactory after separation than before ? Can aliens 
make treaties more easily than friends can make laws 
among friends? Suppose you go to war, you can not 
fight always, and when, after much loss on both sides, 
and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical 
old questions are upon you. In your hands, my dissatis- 
fied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous 
issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. 
You can have no conflict without being yourselves the 
aggressors. You have no solemn oath registered in heaven 
to destroy the government, while I shall have the most 
solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it. I am 
loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We 
must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, 
it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic 
cords of memory stretching from every battlefield and 
patriot's grave to every living heart and hearthstone all 
over this broad laud, will yet swell the chorus of the 
Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the 
better angels of our nature." 

It would seem after these unqualified personal and ojBficial 
declarations regarding the policy of his Administration 
towards the Southern States, that there was no longer 
any necessity for doubt in the public mind as to what he 
would do, for he had given them the strongest assurance 
that he meant only to execute the laws as he found them, 
and that he would preserve, protect and defend the Gov- 
ernment. 

So great was the domination of Southern sentiment in 
the North, that even Harper's Weekly printed a vulgar 
cartoon of President Lincoln, as he passed through Balti- 
more. When he took the oath of office he was surrounded 
by traitors within and without ; on the right and on the 
left; and notwithstanding the pacific language of his 
inaugural address. Southern Senators and Kepresentatives 
precipitately resigned their seats in Congress and cast their 
fortunes with the so-called Southern Confederacy. The 



136 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

reader will bear in mind that these men deserted their 
trusts at a time when the Democrats had a majority in 
both houses of Congress, and there was not a single law 
upon the statute books of the Nation which had been 
fathered or fostered by a Eepublican or Abolitionist re- 
lating to the question of slavery or the right of the people 
of the slave States to manage their domestic affairs in 
their own way ; and with the most solemn assurance from 
the President staring them in the face, that he recog- 
nized the fact that under the Constitution and laws he 
had no right to interfere with the institution of slavery, 
and no disposition to do so, whether the right existed 
or not. 



CHAPTER XII. 
STEPHEN A, DOUGLAS. 



Douglas' Prophecy— Avows His Determination to Stand by President 
Lincoln— His Patriotic Address at Springfleld— Speech at Chicago- 
Death at Chicago— Monument to His Memory. 



Among the many able men Illinois has had in the coun- 
cils of the State and Nation, there has been no grander 
man than Stephen A. Douglas, and at no time did his 
patriotism or ability shine forth with more splendor than 
when the seceding States made war upon his country's 
flag, and among all our statesmen, there was none who 
had a clearer vision as to what was to be the results of 
the war. In Arnold's history of Abraham Lincoln is re- 
lated this prophecy: "Gen. Charles Stuart, of New York, 
was a caller at Douglas' house in Washington, on New 
Year's day, 1861, and to the question, 'What will be the 
result of the efforts of Jefferson Davis and his associates 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 137 

to divide the Union?' Douglas, rising and looking like 
one inspired, replied. 'The cotton States are making an 
effort to draw in the border States to their schemes of 
secession, and I am but too fearful they will succeed. If 
they do succeed, there will be the most terrible civil war 
the world has ever seen, lasting for years.' Pausing a 
a moment, he exclaimed, 'Virginia will become a charnel 
house, but the end will be the triumph of the Union cause. 
One of their first efforts will be to take possession of this 
Capital, to give them prestige abroad, but they will never 
succeed in taking it. The North will rise en masse to 
defend it, but Washington will become a city of hospitals — 
the churches will be used for the sick and wounded — even 
this house (Minnesota block, afterwards, and during the 
war the Douglas Hospital) may be devoted to that pur- 
pose before the end of the war.' The friend to whom this 
was said inquired, 'What justification for all this ?' Doug- 
las replied, 'There is no justification, nor any pretense of 
any. If they remain in the Union, I will go as far as the 
Constitution will permit, to maintain their just rights, and 
I do not doubt a majority of Congress would do the same. 
But,' said he, again rising on his feet, and extending his 
arm, 'if the Southern States attempt to secede from this 
Union without further cause, I am in favor of their hav- 
ing just so many slaves, and just so much slave territory, 
as they can hold at the point of the bayonet, and no 
more.' " 

The words of Douglas proved as prophetic as they were 
patriotic. 

Soon after President Lincoln issued his proclamation 
calling for 75,000 troops. Senator Douglas called on him 
and warmly assured him of his purpose to stand by him 
in the hour of the country's peril. At the request of Mr. 
Lincoln he dictated this dispatch, which was sent through 
the Associated Press to the country: 



138 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"April 18, 1861, Senator Douglas called on the Presi- 
dent, and had an interesting conversation ou the present 
condition of the country. The substance of it was, on the 
part of Mr. Douglae, that while he was unalterably opposed 
to the Administration in all its political issues, he was pre- 
pared to fully sustain the President in the exercise of all 
his constitutional functions to preserve the Union, main- 
tain the Government, and defend the Federal Capital. A 
firm policy and prompt action was necessary. The Capi- 
tal was in danger, and must be defended at all hazards, 
and at any expense of men and money. He spoke of the 
present and future, without reference to the past." 

Arriving at Springfield on the 25th of April, he addressed, 
at their request, the two houses of the General Assembly 
in this decisive and unequivocal language : 

" For the first time since the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution, a wide-spread conspiracy exists to overthrow 
the best government the sun of heaven ever shone upon. 
An invading army is marching upon Washington. The 
boast has gone forth from the Secretary of War of the 
so-called Confederate States, that by the first of May the 
rebel army will be in possession of the National Capital, 
and, by the first of July, its headquarters will be in old 
Independence Hall. 

" The only question for us is, whether we shall wait 
supinely for the invaders, or rush, as one man, to the 
defence of that we hold most dear. Piratical flags are 
afloat on the ocean, under pretended letters of marque. 
Our great river has been closed to the commerce of the 

Northwest 

So long as a hope remained of peace, I plead and implored 
for compromise. Now, that all else has failed, there is 
but one course left, and that is to rally as one man, 
under the flag of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madi- 
son and Franklin. At what time since the Government 
was organized, have the constitutional rights of the South 
been more secure than now? For the first time since 
the Constitution was adopted, there is no legal restriction 
against the spread of slavery in the Territories. When 
was the Fugitive Slave Law more faithfully executed? 
What single act has been done to justify this mad attempt 
to overthrow the Eepublic? We are told that because a 
certain party has carried a Presidential election, therefore 
the South chose to consider their liberties insecure ! I 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 139 

had supposed it was a fundamental principle of American 
institutions, that the will of the majority, constitutionally 
expressed, should govern ! If the defeat at the ballot-box 
is to justify rebellion, the future history of the United 
States may be read in the past history of Mexico. 

" It is a prodigious crime against the freedom of the 
world, to attempt to blot the United States out of the map 
of Christendom. . . . How long do you think it will 
be ere the guillotine is in operation ? Allow me to say to 
my former political enemies, you will not be true to your 
country if you seek to make political capital out of these 
disasters ; and to my old friends, you will be false and 
unworthy of your principles if you allow political defeat to 
convert you into traitors to your national land. The 
shortest way now to peace is the most stupendous and 
unanimous preparations for war. 

" Gentlemen, it is our duty to defend our constitution 
and protect our flag." 

Mr. Douglas then proceeded to Chicago where he spoke 
in the " Eepublican Wigwam, " the building in which 
Abraham Lincoln had been nominated for President, to 
a vast audience composed of men of all parties. The fol- 
lowing extract from that speech will show that Douglas 
had fully sunk the partisan in the patriot, and that he 
stood ready to peril fortune, fame and honor for the pres- 
ervation of the Government. 

" I beg you to believe that I will not do you or myself 
the injustice to think that this magnificent ovation is per- 
sonal to myself. I rejoice to know that it expresses your 
devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the flag of 
our country. I will not conceal gratification at the uncon- 
trovertible test this vast audience presents — that, whatsoever 
political differences or party questions may have divided 
us, yet you all had a conviction that, when the country 
should be in danger, my loyalty could be relied on. That 
the present danger is imminent, no man can conceal. If 
war must come — if the bayonet must be used to maintain 
the Constitution — I say before God, my conscience is clean. 
I have straggled long for a peaceful solution of the diffi- 
culty. I have not only tendered those States what was 
theirs of right, but I have gone to the very extreme of 
magnanimity. 



140 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"The return we receive is war; armies marching upon 
our Capital ; obstructions and dangers to our navigation ; 
letters of marque, to invite pirates to prey upon our com- 
merce; a concerted movement to blot out the United States 
of America from the map of the globe. The question is, 
are we to maintain the country of our fathers, or allow it 
to be stricken down by those who, when they can no longer 
govern, tiireaten to destroy? 

"What cause, what excuse do disunionists give us for 
breaking up the best Government on which the sun of 
heaven ever shed its rays ? They are dissatisfied with the 
result of the Presidential election. Did they never get 
beaten before ? Are we to resort to the sword when we get 
defeated at the baUot-box? I understand it that the voice 
of the people, expressed in the mode appointed by the 
Constitution, must command the obedience of every citi- 
zen. They assume, on the election of a particular can- 
didate, that their rights are not safe in the Union. What 
evidence do they present of this? I defy any man to 
show any act on which it is based. What act has been 
omitted to be done? I appeal to these assembled thous- 
ands, that so far as the constitutional rights of slave- 
holders are concerned, nothing has been done and nothing 
omitted of which they can complain. 

"There has never been a time from the day that Wash- 
ington was inaugurated first President of the United 
States, when the rights of the Southern States stood 
firmer under the laws of the land than they do now; 
there never was a time when they had not as good a 
cause for disunion as they have to-day. What good cause 
have they now that has not existed under every adminis- 
tration ? 

"If they say the Territorial question— now, for the first 
time, there is no act of Congress prohibiting slavery any- 
where. If it be the non-enforcement of the laws, the only 
complaints, that I have heard, have been of the too vigor- 
ous and faithful fuldllment of the Fugitive Slave Law. 
Then what reason have they? 

"The slavery question is a mere excuse. The election 
of Lincoln is a mere pretext. The present secession 
movement is the result of an enormous conspiracy, formed 
more than a year since, formed by leaders in the South- 
ern Confederacy more than twelve months ago. 

"But this is no time for the detail of causes. The con- 
spiracy is now known. Armies have been raised, war is 
levied to accomplish it. There are only two sides to the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 141 

question. Every man must be for the United States or 
against it. There can be no neutrals in this war, only 
patriots or traitors. 

"Thank God, Illinois is not divided on this question. 
I know they expected to present a united South against a 
divided North. They hoped in the Northern States party 
questions would bring civil war between Democrats and 
KepuMicans, when the South would step in with her co- 
horts, aid one party to conquer the other, and then make 
easy prey of the victors. Their scheme was carnage and 
civil war in the North. 

"There is but one way to defeat this. In Ilh'nois it is 
being so defeated, by closing up the ranks. War will 
thus be prevented on our own soil. While there was a 
hope for peace, I was ready for any reasonable sacrifice 
or compromise to maintain it. Bat when the question 
comes of war in the cotton fields of the South, or the 
corn fields of Illinois, I say the farther off the better. 

"I have said more than I intended to say. It is a sad 
task to discuss questions so fearful as civil war; but sad 
as it is, bloody and disastrous as I expect it will be, I 
express it as my conviction before God, that it is the duty 
of every American citizen to rally around the flag of his 
country. 

"I thank you again for this mngnificent demonstration. 
By it you show you have laid aside party strife. Illinois 
has a proud position — united, firm, determined never to 
permit the Government to be destroyed." 

This was the last public speech ever made by the great 
Senator, for at its close he returned to his rooms at the 
Tremont House, where he was taken sick, and never again 
left them alive. 

Douglas was one of the wonderful men of his time. He 
came to Illinois, from Vermont, in the latter part of 1833, then 
only twenty years of age, and like Breese, soon won the confi- 
dence and respect of the people of his adopted State, and 
rapidly rose to distinction. After filling various public 
trusts, among which were State's Attorney, Eepresentative 
in the General Assembly, Secretary of State, Judge of the 
Supreme Court, and Representative in Congress, he was 
elected to the United States Senate in 1847, as the suc- 
cessor of James Semple, and he continued Senator until 



142 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

his death — ^which occurred at Chicago, on the 3d of June, 
1861, which event was mourned by the whole Nation. 
As a statesman, there was none superior. As a pubho 
speaker he stood without a peer. The magnanimity of 
his nature is well illustrated by the fact that he stood by 
and held the hat of his great rival, Abraham Lincoln, 
while he delivered his first inaugural address. The last 
act of his life was a noble appeal for the preservation of 
his Government, which will ever render his name imper- 
ishable in the memory of his countrymen. 

A lasting monument has been erected to his memory, 
at Chicago, on the lake shore. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1862, 



Among the more important acts of the Twenty-second 
General Assembly was the passage of a law providing for a 
constitutional convention to frame a new constitution. The 
election for delegates took place in November, 1861. The 
convention was composed of seventy-five members, forty- 
five of whom were Democrats, twenty-one Eepubl oai:3, 
seven Fusionists, and two doubtful. It will be seen that 
the Democrats had a majority of fifteen over all, and 
therefore had their own way. The convention assembled 
on the 7th of January, 1862. John Dement was elected 
President pro tempore ; William A. Hacker, President, and 
Wm. M. Springer, Secretary. 

The delegates were as follows: 

Wm. A. Hacker, Andrew D. Duff, 

George W. Waters, Daniel Reily, 

Wm. J. Allen, George W. Wall, 

Milton Bartley, H. K. S. O'Melveny, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



143 



Elias S. Terry, 
Wm. W. Orme, 
Eobert B. M. Wilson, 
Jonathan Simpson, 
Julius Manning. 
Norman H. Purple, 
John Burns, 
Alexander Camp])ell, 
Perry A. Armstrong, 
Thomas Finnie, 
Francis Goodspeed, 
J. W. Paddock, 
Henry C. Childs, 
Stephen B. Stinson, 
Adoniram J. Joslyn, 
W. Selden Gale, 
Wm. H. Allen, 
Timothy K. Young, 
Robert T. Templeton, 
George W. Pleasants, 
John Dement, 
Charles Newcomer, 
Wellington Weigley, 
Henry Smith, 
Willard P. Naramore, 
Porter Sheldon, 
Wm. M. Jackson, 
Luther W- Lawrence. 
Elisha P. Ferry, 
John Wentworth, 
Melville W. Fuller, 
Elliott Anthony, 
John H. Muhlke, 



T. B. Tanner, 
Thomas W. Stone, 
R. P. Hanna, 
Thomas W. Morgan, 
Augustus C. French. 
James B. Underwood, 
Samuel Stevenson, 
Solomon Koepflie, 
Samuel A. Buckmaster, 
Isaac L. Leith, 
James H, Parker, 
Harmon Alexander, 
Anthony Thornton, 
Horatio M. Vandeveer, 
Lewis Solomon, 
John W. Woodson, 
James A. Eades, 
Orlando B. Ficklin, 
Benj. S. Edwards, 
James D. Smith, 
Joseph Morton, 
Albert G. Burr, 
Alexander Starne, 
Archibald A. Glenn, 
James W. Singleton, 
Austin Brooks, 
John P. Eicbmond, 
Milton M. Merrill, 
Joseph C. Thompson, 
Lewis W. Boss, 
John G. Graham, 
Thompson W. McNeely, 
E. L. Austin, 
T. R. Webber, 

There were many eminent minds in this convention, 
among whom we name : 

Hacker, Allen, Duff, Wall, O'Melveny, Tanner, Hanna, 
French, Underwood, Buckmaster, Thornton, Vandeveer, 
Ficklin, Edwards, Burr, Singleton, Ross, Burns, Goodspeed, 
Joslyn, Gale, Dement, Wentworth, Fuller and Anthony. 

This body assumed, in a very large degree, both the 
powers of the Legislature and convention, and among 
other extraordinary acts, passed an ordinance appropriating 



144 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

$500,000 for the benefit of the sick and wounded sol- 
diers of IlHnois. Bonds were to be issued on whi^h to 
raise the money, to bear ten per cent, interest, but Gov. 
Yates gave no heed to this act, or any other of a 
Hke nature, beheving, as he did, that the duty of the con- 
vention was confined simply to the framing of a new 
constitution. 

The constitution framed provided for biennial State elec- 
tions for all State officers, and legislated out of office the 
Governor and other State officers, and fixed the time for 
electing a new State Government for November, 1862. 

The constitution was submitted to a vote of the people 
the following June. There were two articles submitted 
separately; one concerning banks and currency, and the 
other relating to negroes and mulattoes. The latter we 
reproduce : 

" Article 18. Sec. 1. No negro or mulatto shall migrate 
to or settle in this State, after the adoption of this Con- 
stitution. 

" Sec. 2. No negro or mulatto shall have the right of 
suffrage or hold oliice in this State. 

" Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall pass all laws 
necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this 
article." 

The vote for the constitution was 126,739 ; against, 151,- 
254. Majority against the constitution, 24,515. 

The article relating to negroes and mulattoes was voted 
on by sections, and all carried by unprecedented majori- 
ties. The article relating to banks was lost by a small 
vote. 

It was contended by some of the leading Democratic 
lawyers that the article relating to negroes and mulattoes 
became a part of the constitution of 1848, but the ques- 
tion had not been passed upon by the courts when the 
constitution of 1870 was adopted. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 145 



CHAPTER XIV. 



STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1862. 

Late Conventions— But Two Tickets— Democrats Successful— Aggregate 
Vote for State Officers— Aggregate Vote for Members of Congress by 
Districts. 



In view of the fact that the Nation was in the midst 
of civil war, there was little disposition on the part of the 
people, not active politicians, to interest themselves in po- 
litical matters, and the Democrats did not hold their 
convention until the 16th of September, at which Alex- 
ander Starne was nominated for Treasurer, John P. 
Brooks for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Jas. 
C. Allen for Congressman-at-Large. 

On the 24th of September, the Kepublicans met in con- 
vention, and nominated Wm. Butler for Treasurer, Newton 
Bateman for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and 
Eben C. IngersoU for Congressman-at-Large. 

The candidates for Congress made a vigorous canvass 
of the State, but the Democrats elected their ticket, and 
carried both branches of the Legislature. 

The aggregate vote for State officers, Congressman-at- 
Large and by districts, is as follows: 

Treasurer. 

Alexander Starne, D 136,843 

Wilham Butler, E 120,177 

—10 



146 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

John P. Brooks, D 136,119 

Newton Bateman, E 120,110 

Congressman- at-Lakge. 

James C. Allen, D 136,257 

Ebeu C. Ingersoll, K 119,819 

Members of Congress — First District. 

Isaac N. Arnold, R 10,025 

Francis C. iSherman 8,387 

Second District. 

John P. Farnsworth, E 12,612 

Neil Donnelly 4,785 

Scattering 8 

Third District. 

Elihu B. Washburne, E 10,496 

Elias B. Stiles 6,785 

Scattering 1 

Fourth District. 

Charles W. Harris, D 11,626 

Charles B. Lawrence 8,711 

Fifth District. 

Owen Lovejoy, E 11,683 

Thos. J. Henderson 11,020 

Benj . Graham 617 

Scattering 4 

Sixth District. 

Jesse 0. Norton, E. 10,601 

T. Lyle Dickey 8,419 

Scattering 2 

Seventh District. 

John E. Eden, D 11,361 

Elijah McCarty 10,004 

Eighth District. 

John T. Stuart, D 12,808 

Leonard Swett 11,443 



politics and politicians of illinois. 147 

Ninth District. 

Lewis W. Eoss, D 13,391 

William Ross 76 

Scattering 51 

Tenth District. 

Anthony L. Knapp, D 14,259 

Samuel W. Moulton 7,712 

Scattering 48 

Eleventh District. 

Jas. C. Robinson, D 13,644 

Stephen G. Hicks 6,521 

Twelfth District. 

William R. Morrison, D 10,999 

Robert Smith 6,854 

Thirteenth District. 

William J. Allen, D 9,497 

Milton Bartley 4,290 



CHAPTER XV. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1863. 



stirring Message of the Governor— Peace Resolutions— Counter Resolutions 
—Majority and Minority Reports of tlie Committee on Federal Relations 
—Prorogation— Decision of the Supreme Court. 



Governor — Richard Yates. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Francis A. Hoffman. 

Secretary of State — 0. M. Hatch. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Jesse K. Dubois. 

Treasurer — Alexander Stame. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — John P. Brooks. 



148 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



TWENTY-THIKD GENERAL AsSEMBILY. 

The Twenty-third General Assembly convened January 5, 
and consisted of the following members: 



Senate. 



Wm. H. Green, Massac. 
Hugh Gregg, Williamson. 
I. Blauchard, Jackson. 
J. M. Eodgers, Clinton. 
*W. A. J. Sparks, Clinton. 
W. H. Underwood, St.Clair. 
L, E. Worcester, Greene. 
H. M.Vandeveer, Christian. 
S. Moffat, Effingham. 
Jos. Peters, Vermilion. 
Isaac Funk, McLean. 
Colby Knapp, Logan. 
H. E. Dummer, Cass. 



B. T. Schofield, Hancock. 
Wm. Berry, McDonough. 
Albert C. Mason, Knox. 
John T. Lindsay, Peoria. 
W. Bushnell, LaSalle. 
A. W. Mack, Kankakee. 
Edward E. Allen, Kane. 
D. Richards, Whiteside. 
T. J. Pickett, Rock Island. 
J. H. Addams, Stephenson. 
Cornehus Lansing, McHenry. 
Wm. B. Ogden, Cook. 
Jasper D. Ward, Cook. 



House of Representatives. 



James H. Smith, Union. 
T. B. Hicks, Massac. 
J as. B. Turner, Gallatin. 
Jas. W. Sharp, Wabash. 
H. M. Williams, Jefferson. 
J. M.Washburn, Williamson. 
Jesse R. Ford, Clinton. 
S. W. Miles, Monroe. 
E. Menard, Randolph. 
J. W. Merritt, Marion. 
Jas. M. Heard, Wayne. 
D. W. Odeh, Crawford. 
J. W. Wescott, Clay. 
R. H. McCann, Fayette. 
C. L. Conger, White. 
J. B. Underwood, St. Clair. 
John Thomas, St. Clair. 
S. A. Buckmaster, Madison. 
Wm. Watkins, Bond. 
P. Daugherty, Clark. 
Reuben Roessler, Shelby. 
G. F. Coffeen, Montgomery. 



A. M. Miller, Logan. 
C. A. Keyes, Sangamon. 
C. A. Walker, Macoupin. 
John N. English, Jersey. 
Wm. B. Witt, Greene. 
Scott Wike, Pike. 
Albert G. Burr, Scott. 
James M. Epler, Cass. 
Lyman Lacey, Menard. 
J. T. Springer, Morgan. 
A. E. Wheat, Adams. 
Wm. J. Brown, Adams. 
Lewis G. Reid, McDonough. 
Joseph Sharon, Schuyler. 
Milton M. Morrill, Hancock. 
Thos. B. Cabeen, Mercer. 
Henry K. Peffer, Warren. 
Joseph M. Holyoke, Knox. 
John G. Graham, Falton. 
Simeon P. Shope, Falton. 
James Holgate, Stark. 
Wm. W. O'Brien, Peoria. 



♦Se.at contested. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



149 



Elias Wenger, Tazewell, 
Harrison Noble, McLean. 
Boynton Tenny, DeWitt. 
John Tenbrook, Coles. 
John Gerrard, Edgar. 
Johin Monroe, Vermilion. 
James Elder, Macon. 
*Wm. N. Coler, Champaign. 
tJ. S. Busey, Champaign. 
C. A. Lake, Kankakee. 
Addison Goodell, Iroquois. 
John W. Newport, Grundy. 
Charles E. Boyer, Will. 
IP. A. Armstrong, Grundy. 
T. C. Gibson, LaSalle. 
Mercy B. Patty, Livingston. 
John 0. Dent, LaSalle. 
George Dent, Putnam. 
J. A. Davis, Woodford. 
Daniel E. Howe, Bureau. 
Nelson Lay, Henry. 
J. " - 



L. Smith, Whiteside. 
Demas L. Harris, Lee. 
James V. Gale, Ogle. 
W. W. Sedgwick, DeKalb. 
L. W. Lawrence, Boone. 
Sylvester S. Mann, Kane. 
Jacob P. Black, Kendall. 
Elijah M. Haines, Lake. 
T. B. Wakeman, McHenry. 
S. M. Church, Winnebago. 
H. C. Burchard, Stephenson. 
Henry Green, Jo Daviess. 
Jos. F. Chapman, Carroll. 
A. S. Barnard, DuPage. 
Ansel B. Cook, Cook. 
Amos G. Throop, Cook. 
Wm. E. Ginther, Cook. 
Melville W. Fuller, Cook. 
*George W. Gage, Cook. 
§Micbael Brandt, Cook. 
Francis A. Eastman, Cook. 
Lorenzo Brentano, Cook. 

Lieu- 



Kistler, Eock Island. 

The Democrats had a majority in both branches. 
tenant-Governor Hoffman presided over the Senate, and 
Manning Mayfield, of Massac, was elected Secretary, over 
L. H. Burnham, of Stephenson, by a vote of 13 to 10. 

Samuel A. Buckmaster, of Madison, was elected Speaker 
of the House, over Luther W. Lawrence, of Boone, by a 
vote of 52 to 25, and John Q. Harmon, of Alexander, Clerk, 
over John C. Southwick, of Lake, by a vote of 53 to 25. 

Among the new members of this General Assembly who 
were prominent, or attained prominence, were : Menard, 
Merritt, Conger, Thomas, Wike, Shope, O'Brien, Mann, 
Burchard, Fuller, Eastman, Brentano. 

The Governor's message was laid before the two houses 
on the 6th of January. It contained the usual recom- 
mendations regarding needed legislation relating to the 

♦Seat contested. 

tAclmitted to seat of Wm. N. Coler. 
♦ Vice John W. Newport, deceased. 
§Admitted to seat of George W. Gage. 



150 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

several great interests of the State, but the greater por- 
tion of it was devoted to questions growing out of the war. 
Eeferring to National affairs, he said : 

" In the new policy of emancipation thus inaugurated, I 
feel that it is of the utmost importance to meet and silence 
the prejudice which, for partisan purposes, is attempted 
to be excited against the alleged injurious effects of eman- 
cipation. It is not to be overlooked that there exists a 
degree of prejudice in the minds of the people, upon the 
subject of giving freedom to the slave, to which politicians 
appeal with fatal injury to the cause of that enlightened 
progress which has been so Providentially placed within 
the reach of the present generation. A grand opportunity 
is presented to us by the logic of events. By a wise and 
Christian policy we blot out a mighty wrong to one class 
of people now in bondage, and secure lasting peace and 
happiness to another. 

" I am sure of two things : First — that when slavery is 
removed, this rebellion will die out, and not before. Sec- 
ond — I believe and predict, and commit the prediction in 
this State paper to meet the verdict of my successors in 
office, and of posterity, that the change brought about by 
the policy of emancipation will pass off in a way so quietly 
and so easily that the world will stand amazed that we 
should have entertained such fears of its evils. . . . 

" I demand the removal of slavery. In the name of my 
country, whose peace it has disturbed, and plunged into 
fearful civil war ; in the name of the heroes it has slain ; 
in the name of justice, whose highest tribunals it has 
corrupted and prostituted to its basest ends and purposes ; 
in the name of Washington and Jefferson, and all the old 
patriots who struggled round about the camps of liberty, 
and who looked forward to the early extinction of slavery ; 
in the name of progress, civilization and liberty, and in 
the name of God Almighty himself, I demand the utter 
and entire demolition of this heaven-cursed wrong of hu- 
man bondage — this sole cause of the treason, death and 
misery which fill the land. Fear not the consequences, 
for the Almighty will uphold the arms of the hosts whose 
banners are blazoned with the glorious war-cry of liberty. 

" Slavery removed, and we shall have peace— solid and 
enduring peace — and our Nation, entering upon a new 
career, will leap with a mighty bound to be the greatest 
and freest upon the face of the earth. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 151 

"I regret that appeals are being made to the masses 
by a few public presses in the country for separation from 
New England. Not a drop of New England blood courses 
my veins; still I should deem myself an object of com- 
miseration and shame if I could forget her glorious his- 
tory ; if I could forget that the blood of her citizens freely 
commingled with that of my own ancestors upon those 
memorable fields which ushered in the millennium dawn 
of civil and religious liberty. I purpose not to be the eulo- 
gist of New England ; but she is indissolubly bound to us 
by all the bright memories of the past, by all the glory 
of the present, by all the hopes of the future. I shall 
always glory in the fact that I belong to a republic in the 
galaxy of whose stars New England is among the brightest 
and best. Palsied be the hand that would sever the ties 
which bind the East and West." 

The two houses met in joint session on the 12th of Jan- 
uary and proceeded to elect a Senator of the United States 
to succeed Stephen A. Douglas, deceased. Wm. A. Eich- 
ardson received 65 votes and Richard Yates 38. Richard- 
son having received a majority of all the votes cast, the 
Speaker declared him the duly elected Senator. 

This was not a harmonious body. We were then in the 
second year of the war, and there existed a radical differ- 
ence between the respective parties relating to the meas- 
ures employed by the National Government to overthrow 
the rebellion, and much of the time of the session was 
occupied in a violent and fruitless discussion of these 
questions ; but that the reader may have a clear under- 
standing of the spirit and temper of that assembly, we 
print the views of the respective parties on the questions 
at issue as they were presented by the majority and min- 
ority reports from the Committee on Federal Relations. 
The report of the majority was in these words: 

"Whereas, The Union has no existence separate from 
the Federal Constitution, but, being created solely by that 
instrument, it can only exist by virtue thereof; and when 
the provisions of that Constitution are suspefided, either 
in time of war or in peace, whether by the North or the 
South, it is alike disunion ; and 



152 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

" Whereas, The Federal Government can lawfully exer- 
cise no power that is not conferred upon it by the Federal 
Constitution, the exercise, therefore, of other powers, not 
granted by that instrument, in time of war, as well as in 
time of peace, is a violation of the written will of the Ameri- 
can people, destructive of their plan of government, and 
of their common liberties ; and 

" Whereas, The Constitution cannot be maintained, nor 
the Union preserved, in opposition to public feehng, by 
a mere exercise of the coercive powers confided to the 
General Government, and that, in case of differences and 
conflicts between the States and the Federal Government, 
too powerful for adjustment by the civil departments of 
the Government, the appeal is not to the sword, by the 
State, or by the General Government, but to the people, 
peacefully assembled by their Representatives in conven- 
tion ; and 

" Whereas, The allegiance of the citizen is due alone to 
the Constitution and laws made in pursuance thereof — not 
to any man, or of&cer, or administration— and whatever 
support is due to any of&cer of this Government, is due 
alone by virtue of the Constitution and laws ; and 

" Whereas, also. The condition of the whole Eepublic, 
but more especially the preservation of the liberties of the 
people of Illinois, imperatively demands that we, their 
representatives, should make knov.'n to our fellow country- 
men our deliberate judgment and will; 

"We therefore declare. That the acts of the Federal 
Administration in suspending the writ of habeas corpus, the 
arrest of citizens not subject to military law, without 
warrant and without authority — transporting them to dis- 
tant States, incarcerating them in political prisons, with- 
out charge or accusation — denying them the right of trial 
by jury, witnesses in their favor, or counsel for their 
defense ; withholding from them all knowledge of their 
accusers, and the cause of their arrest — answering their 
petitions for redress by repeated injury and insult — pre- 
scribing, in many cases, as a condition of their release, 
test oaths, arbitrary and illegal ; in the abridgment of 
freedom of speech, and of the press, by imprisoning the 
citizen for expressing his sentiments, by suppressing news- 
papers by military force, and establishing a censorship 
over others, wholly incompatible with freedom of thought 
and expression of opinion, and the establishment of a sys- 
tem of espionage by a secret police, to invade the sacred 
privacy of unsuspecting citizens ; declaring martial law 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 153 

over states not in rebellion, and where the courts are 
open and unobstructed for the punishment of crime ; in 
declaring the slaves of loyal, as well as disloyal citizens, 
in certain States and parts of States, free ; the attempted 
enforcement of compensated emancipation ; the proposed 
taxation of the laboring white man to purchase the free- 
dom and secure the elevation of the negro ; the transporta- 
tion of negroes into the State of Illmois, in defiance of the 
repeatedly expressed will of the people ; the arrest and 
imprisonment of the Eepresentatives of a free and sover- 
eign State ; the dismemberment of the State of Virgiina, 
erecting within her boundaries a new State, without the 
consent of her Legislature, are each and all arbitrary and 
unconstitutional, a usurpation of the legislative functions, 
a suspension of the judicial departments of the State and 
Federal Governments, subverting the Constitution — State 
and Federal — invading the reserved rights of the people, 
and the sovereignty of the States, and, if sanctioned, de- 
structive of the Union — establishing upon the common 
ruins of the liberties of the people and the sovereignty 
of the States a consolidated military despotism, 

"And we hereby solemnly declare that no American 
citizen can, without the crime of infidelity to his country's 
Constitutions, and the allegiance which he bears to each, 
sanction such usurpations. 

"Believing that our silence would be criminal, and may 
be construed into consent, in deep reverence for our Con- 
stitution, which has been ruthlessly violated, we do hereby 
enter our most solemn protest against these usurpations 
of power, and place the same before the world, intending 
thereby to warn our public servants against further usur- 
pations ; therefore. 

Resolved by tJie House of Representatives, the Senate con- 
curring herein. That the army was organized, confiding in 
the declaration of the President, in his inaugural address, 
to-wit : "That he had no purpose, directly or indirectly, to 
interfere with the institution of slavery in the States 
wbere it existed, and that he believed he had no lawful 
right to do so, and that he had no inclination to do so;" 
and upon the declaration of the Federal Congress, to-wit : 
"That this war is not waged in any spirit of oppression 
or subjugation, or any purpose of overthrowing any of the 
institutions of any of the States ;" and that, inasmuch as 
the whole policy of the Administration, since the organi- 
zation of the army, has been at war with the declarations 
aforesaid, culminating in the emancipation proclamation, 



154 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

leaving the facts patent, tlmt the war has been diverted 
from its first avowed object to that of subjugation and the 
abolition of slavery, a fraud, both legal and moral, has 
been perpetrated upon the brave sons of Illinois, who have 
so nobly gone forth to battle for the Constitution and the 
laws. And, while we protest against the continuance of 
this gross fraud upon our citizen soldiers, we thank them 
for that heroic conduct on the battlefields that shed im- 
perishable glory on the State of Illinois. 

"Resolved, That we believe the further prosecution of the 
present war can not result in the restoration of the Union 
and the preservation of the Constitution, as our fathers 
^made it, unless the President's Emancipation Proclama- 
tion be withdrawn. 

"Resolved, That while we condemn and denounce the 
flagrant and monstrous usurpations of the Administration, 
and encroachments of Abolitionism, we eqnally condemn 
and denounce the ruinous heresy of secession, as unwar- 
ranted by the Constitution, and destructive alike of the 
security and perpetuity of our Government, and the peace 
and liberty of the people ; and fearing, as we do, that it 
is the intention of the present Congress and Administra- 
tion, at no distant day, to acknowledge the independence 
of the Southern Confederacy, and thereby sever the Union, 
we hereby solemnly declare that we are unalterably op- 
posed to any such severance of the Union, and that we 
never can consent that the great Northwest shall be sep- 
arated from the Southern States, comprising the Missis- 
sippi Valley. That river shall never water the soil of two 
nations, but, from its source to its confluence with the 
gulf, shall belong to one great and united people. 

"Resolved, That peace, fraternal relations and political 
fellowship should be restored among the States, that the 
best interests of all, and the welfare of mankind, require 
that this should be done in the most speedy and effective 
manner ; that it is to the people we must look for a res- 
toration of the Union, and the blessings of peace, and to 
these ends we should direct our earnest and honest efforts ; 
and hence we are in favor of the assembling of a National 
Convention of all the States, to so adjust our National 
difficulties that the States may hereafter live together in 
harmony, each being secured in the rights guaranteed to 
all by our fathers ; and which Convention we recommend 
shall convene at Louisville, Kentucky, or such other place 
as shall be determined upon by Congress or the several 
States, at the earliest practicable period. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 155 

" Resolved, farther, therefore, That to attain the objects 
of the foregoing resolution, we hereby memorialize the 
Congress of the United States, the Administration at 
Washington, and the Executives and Legislatures of the 
several States, to take such action as shall secure an 
armistice, in which the rights and safety of the Govern- 
ment shall be fully protected, for such length of time as 
will enable the people to meet in convention as aforesaid. 
And we, therefore, earnestly recommend to our fellow- 
citizens everywhere, to observe and keep all their lawful 
and constitutional obligations ; to abstain from all violence, 
and to meet together and reason, each with the other, 
upon the best mode to attain the great blessings of peace, 
unity and liberty ; and, be it further 

" Resolved, That to secure the co-operation of the States 
and the General Government, Stephen T. Logan, Samuel 
S. Marshall, H. K. S. O'Melveny, Wilham C. Goudy, An- 
thony Thornton and John D. Caton, are hereby appointed 
commissioners to confer immediately with Congress and 
the President of the United States, and with the Legis- 
latures and Executives of the several States, and urge 
the necessity of prompt action to secure said armistice, 
and the election of delegates to, and early assembling of, 
said convention ; and to arrange and agree with the Gen- 
eral Government and the several States, upon the time 
and place of holding said convention ; and that they re- 
port their action in the premises to the General Assembly 
of this State. 

" Resolved, That the Speaker of the House of Represen- 
tatives be requested to transmit a copy of the foregoing 
preamble and resolutions to the President of the United 
States, to each of our Senators and Representatives in 
Congress, and to each of the Governors and the Speakers 
of the House of Representatives of the several States," 

The minority report was as follows : 

" Resolved, That in the present condition of our National 
affairs, and in the existence of the troubles which sur- 
round our country, it is the duty of all good citizens 
cordially to support the National and State administra- 
tions, and that we hereby offer to the administration of 
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and 
Richard Yates, Governor of the State of Illinois, our 
earnest and cordial support in the efforts of their respec- 
tive administrations to put down the present most infamous 
rebellion. 



156 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"Resolved, That while we admit that during the present 
terrible and unjustifiable rebellion it would be impossible 
for the President of the United States to discharge his duties 
so as to satisfy the views of all the people of the United 
States, yet as he is the officer invested with the constitu- 
tional power to act as the executive head of the Govern- 
ment in putting down the present rebellion, which is seeking 
our overthrow, it becomes the duty of all loyal citizens to 
strengthen the President's arm for the contest, and to give 
him that moral and material aid and support, regardless 
of mere party difference of opinion, that will be effectual 
to put down insurrection and sustain our Government, 
and we hold that no man can be regarded as a lover of 
his country who will not make any sacrifice that is needed 
to sustain the Government under which he lives. 

" Resolved, That it is the first and highest duty of the 
National Government to crush out the existing rebellion ; 
that our own happiness, prosperity and power as a peo- 
ple, and the fate of republican institutions throughout the 
world are involved in this great issue ; and in order to 
accomplish that result, it is both the right and duty of 
the Government to use all means recognized by the laws 
of civilized warfare. 

"Resolved, That the Constitution of our fathers and the 
irrepealable laws of nature unite in indissoluble bonds the 
great Northwest with the mouth of the Mississippi and 
the Eastern seaboard ; that we should be as ready, if need 
were, to crush secession in the East as in the South, and 
that we will never consent to the dissolution of the Union, 
or to the abandonment by the National Government of 
its constitutional sovereignty over any, the least portion 
of our territory. 

"Resolved, That we have no terms of compromise to 
propose to rebels in arms ; that we should regard propo- 
sitions by the loyal States for a cessation of hostilities as 
both fruitless and humiliating, and that any settlement 
of our National troubles, by any species of concession to 
rebels, or by any mode short of an unconditional sup- 
pression of the rebellion, would be an acknowledgment 
of the principle of secession, and would be offering a pre- 
mium to treason for all time to come. 

"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States 
confers upon the Government of the same, all the powers 
necessary to the effectual suppression of the rebellion, and 
to punish the rebels for the violation of their allegiance, 
and to this end it may deprive them of life, liberty or 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 157 

property, if required, in its judgment, and that an imperious 
necessity demanded of the President of the United States 
the issuing of his proclamation of freedom to the slaves 
in rebellious States and parts of States, and we pledge 
ourselves to sustain him in the same. 

"Resolved, That the President, as Commander-in-Chief 
of the army and the executive head of the Government, 
has the same undoubted right to suspend the writ of 
habeas corpus, during an armed rebellion, that Gen. Jack- 
son had to suspend that writ in New Orleans ; that even 
if individual cases of hardship have occurred in conse- 
quence of false information furnished to the Government, 
which it had good reason to believe to be true, still no 
thoroughly loyal citizen, who earnestly desires the sup- 
pression of the rebellion, would seek, for such causes, to 
create disaffection among the people towards the Govern- 
ment, or to make them believe that their liberties are in 
danger, and that we have yet to hear of the first truly 
loyal man who believes himself in danger of military arrest 
or imprisonment in so-called bastiles. 

"Resolved, That the object of the Administration, in 
prosecuting the war against the rebellion, is now, as it 
ever has heretofore been, the restoration of the Union, 
and not the abolishment of slavery in the rebellious States ; 
that this last step is resorted to by the President as a 
necessary and constitutional war measure, and as a potent 
means towards the accomplishment of the great object 
had in vinw— the crushing of the rebellion and the resto- 
ration of the Union. 

Resolved, That during the great convulsion which afflicts 
our country, we are desirous of seeing the liberty of the 
citizen as much respected as is compatible with public 
safety; but we distinctly announce our conviction to be, 
that no man has a right to be a traitor— that no man 
has a right to aid and abet the enemies of his country — 
that no man has a right to appeal to the spirit of insur- 
rection in opposition to the constituted and lawful authori- 
ties of the land— that those so offending act by virtue of 
no right, but in their own wrong, and should be promptly 
and duly restrained by the Government. 

Resolved, That until the present struggle is over, and 
the Union restored, the people should recognize no party 
line but that mentioned by Mr. Douglas — the line divid- 
ing patriots and traitors; that inasmuch as all traitors, 
North and South, are united, it behooves all patriots of 
all parties to stand together like a band of brothers. 



158 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

meeting with unbroken front, and putting down with united 
strength treason in all its forms, and wherever it may lift 
its head. 

Resolved, That the late State government of Virginia 
having treasonably abdicated its legitimate authority, the 
same devolved upon that portion of her citizens which 
organized a loyal government in that section of her terri- 
tory where they could safely assemble, and tliat such loyal 
government was invested with the whole power of the State 
of Virginia, and had the rightful authority, under the 
National Constitution, with the sanction of Congress, to 
consent to the formation of a new State, carved out of its 
territory. 

Resolved, That the courts of the United States would 
be wholly inefficient to maintain its authority against rebels 
in arms, and that the only mode in which the rebellion 
can be put down is through the military arm of the Gov- 
ernment, and that the proper duty of our courts is to follow, 
and not to precede, our armies, and that we will hail the 
day when the military aid can be dispensed with in the 
administration of our affairs, and the civil authority restored 
to its wonted supremacy. 

Resolved, That the democratic principle, viz : the fre- 
quency of elections, and of submission to the will of the 
people as expressed at the ballot box, dispenses entirely 
with the necessity of forcible revolution to correct any real 
or fancied errors of administration, and this fact takes 
away all excuse for those who seek to inaugurate a state 
of anarchy or rebellion, and invests their crime with a ten- 
fold atrocity. 

Resolved, That the gallant sons of Illinois who have 
gone forth to fight our battles, have achieved for them- 
selves and their State imperishable renown ; that the page 
which shall record their deeds will be among the brightest 
of our country's history, and having sealed their hatred 
of treason by the baptism of the battle-field, they will, 
upon their return, pronounce at the ballot box, their con- 
demnation of all men who have dared to express a covert 
sympathy with traitors, or to denounce the sacred cause 
for which they have shed their blood." 

On the 12th of February, Mr. Lawrence moved to substi- 
tute the minority report for that of the majority, which was 
lost by a vote of 27 yeas to 52 nays, when Mr. Burr moved 
the previous question upon the adoption of the resolutions 
of the majority report, which was decided in the affirmative, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 159 

by a vote of 52 yeas to 28 nays. The resolutions were 
transmitted to the Senate the same day for its concur- 
rence, and on motion of Mr. Underwood, they were made 
the special order for Friday evening the 13th, at 7 o'clock. 
Pending the action of the Senate on the resolutions, Sen- 
ator Eogers, Democrat, died, which left the Senate, politi- 
cally, a tie, and as the presiding officer was a Eepublican 
and had the casting vote, the resolutions were thus left 
unacted upon, and on the 14th the two houses took a 
recess until the 2d of June. 

As may be inferred, this was one of the most exciting 
sessions of the Legislature ever known. A wide difference 
existed between the Executive and the dominant party as 
to the National policy regarding the prosecution of the 
war. The majority in either house lost no opportunity to 
oppose the wishes of the Executive, and vice versa. Many 
violent speeches were made in either house, but that of Sen- 
ator Funk, of McLean, who had been elected to succeed 
Senator Oglesby, was one of the most thrilling and re- 
markable. Mr. Funk was a Eepublican, and ardently in 
favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war. He had never 
made a speech before in his life; he had listened for 
weeks to the utterances of the men who opposed the war 
policy of the National Government, until his patience was 
exhausted, and rising in his place, without knowing what 
he was going to say, or what would be the consequences, 
he spoke with a power and fluency that filled and thrilled 
the entire capitol, and won for him the admiration of the 
war men throughout the entire North. His speech w^as 
reproduced in all the leading journals of the country ; it 
was read to the Union soldiers in the South, by order of 
their commanders, and Mr. Funk received from President 
Lincoln a personal letter, thanking him for the bold stand 
he had taken in favor of the prosecution of the war. We will 
digress to say that Senator Funk died in Bloomington, at 



160 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

5 o'clock a. m., January 29, 1865, at the residence of his 
son Duncan, surrounded by his aifectiouate family, in the 
68th year of his age; and, singular as it may seem, his 
wife died at 9 o'clock on the same day. 

This body reassembled in June, agreeably to adjourn- 
ment, and on the 3d Mr. Bushnell introduced a joint 
resolution proposing a sine die adjournment on the 10th. 
On the 8th his resolution was taken up, and, on motion 
of Mr. Mack, was amended by inserting the words "at 
12 o'clock." Mr. Mason moved to insert "the 16fch inst. 
at 12 o'clock." The yeas and nays being demanded, it 
was lost, by a vote of 4 yeas to 17 nays. The question 
recurring on the motion to adjourn on the 10th, Mr. Van- 
deveer moved to amend by inserting "6 o'clock this day," 
which was decided in the affirmative, by a vote of 14 yeas 
to 7 nays. The resolution was sent to the House for its 
concurrence. Mr. Walker moved to amend the resolution 
by striking out the words "June 8th, at 6 o'clock p. m.," 
and inserting in lieu thereof the words "June 22d, at 10 
o'clock a. m." Mr. Haines moved to strike out "June 
8th, at 6 o'clock p. m.," and insert "June 12th, at 10 
o'clock a. m." Mr. Monroe moved to strike out "June 
8ih, at 6 o'clock," and insert "June 19th, at 10 o'clock 
a. m." Mr. Smith, of Union, moved to lay the whole 
subject on the table, which was decided in the negative, 
by a vote of 27 yeas to 32 nays. Mr. Wike then moved 
the previous question on the amendment of Mr. Walker, 
which was decided in the affirmative, by a vote of 45 yeas 
to 21 nays, when the resolution, as amended, was adopted 
by a vote of 51 yeas to 13 nays, and it was sent to the 
Senate for its concurrence. A resolution was subsequently 
sent by the House to the Senate expressing a desire to 
recede from its action in amending the Senate resolution 
relative to adjournment, and requested the return of the 
resolution for reconsideration. There was no further 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 161 

action by the Senate on the resolution, and on the morning 
of the 10th, Gov. Yates transmitted a message to the two 
houses proroguing the General Assembly "to the Saturday 
next preceding the first Monday in January, 1865." In 
the Senate, the Speaker having vacated his seat, Mr. 
Underwood was called to the chair when a call of the 
Senate showed only eight members present. In the House 
the message proroguing the Assembly was announced by 
the Doorkeeper, and read, but the bearer was not recog- 
nized by th" Speaker. Mr. Smith, of Union, moved to 
adjourn until 2 o'clock. Mr. Burr moved to adjourn with- 
out day, and after debate, the resolution was withdrawn, 
when Mr. Walker moved a call of the House, when it was 
found to be without a quorum. On motion of Mr. Burr, 
a joint committee, consisting of three from the House and 
two from the Senate, was appointed to prepare an address 
to the people, explaining why they were not engaged in 
transacting the legiti^Tiate business for which they were 
elected. 

On the presentation of the message proroguing the body, 
the Eepublicans at once absented themselves from the 
two houses and departed for their respective homes, but 
the Democrats remained in session until the 24th of June, 
when a recess was taken until the Tuesday after the first 
Monday of January, 1864, at 10 o'clock a. m. (See House 
and Senate journals, 1863.) 

This was the first, and only time, where the Governor 
of the State had exercised the power of prorogation, as 
conferred upon him by the constitution. The Democratic 
members issued a fiery address to the people of the State, 
setting forth their grievances, and the question as to the 
legality of the action of the Governor was presented to 
the Supreme Court, in various forms, by eminent legal 
talent, yet that body never rendered a decision bearing 
—11 



162 1>0LITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

directly on the question. Three Judges then constituted 
this Court, in the persons of Sidney Breese, Pinkney H. 
Walker and John D. Caton, but the latter was not present 
when the cause was passed upon. Justices Breese and 
Walker wrote separate opinions, but each concurred with 
the other. Justice Breese said: "Admitting, then, that 
the act of the Governor was, in the language of the pro- 
test, 'illegal, outrageous and unconstitutional,' both houses 
having adopted it and dispersed, they thereby put an end 
to the session, evincing at the time no intention to resume 
it. This, for all practical purposes, was an adjournment 
sine die." And thus ended the existence of this General 
Assembly, and the controversy growing out of its proro- 
gation by the Governor. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1864, 



Two State Tickets— Two Presidential Candidates— Aggregate Vote for State 
Offieers— Aggregate Vote for Members of Congress by Districts— Aggre- 
gate Vote for Electors. 



The Eepublican party held their State Convention May 
25, to nominate a State ticket and appoint delegates to 
the National Convention. Eichard J. Oglesby was nomi- 
nated for Governor; William Bross, for Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor ; Sharon Tyndale, for Secretary of State ; 0. H. Miner, 
for Auditor; James H. Beveridge, for Treasurer; Newton 
Bateman, for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and 
S. W. Moulton for Congressman-at-Large. 

The Democratic Convention did not meet until Septem- 
ber 6. James C. Robinson was nominated for Governor; 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 163 

S. Corning Judd, for Lieutenant-Governor ; Wm. A. Turney, 
for Secretary of State ; John Hise, for Auditor ; Alexander 
Stame, for Treasurer ; John P. Brooks, for Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, and James C. Allen for Congress- 
man-at-Large. 

The Eepublicans met in National Convention at Balti- 
more, June 7, and renominated Abraham Lincoln for Presi- 
dent and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President. 

The Democrats met in National Convention at Chicago, 
August 29, and nominated Geo. B. McClellan, of New 
Jersey, for President, and Geo. H. Pendleton, of Ohio, for 
Vice-President. 

This being the year of the Presidential election, the 
contest was therefore active and earnest on both sides, 
and was waged with much bitterness. Notwithstanding 
the Democrats had nominated a strong war man for Presi- 
dent, they adopted a peace platform in which they declared 
that the war for the Union was a failure, and demanded 
a cessation of hostilities, which platform was adopted by 
the Democratic State Convention. 

In the selection of Kobinson and Allen, the Democracy 
had put forth their greatest champions, and on this plat- 
form they boldly took their stand, and the State rang 
from end to end and side to side with their eloquence. 

The Eepublicans had resolved, in State and National 
Conventions, to stand by the constituted authorities of 
the country in their efforts to uphold the character of the 
Government and maintain the Union, and as an evidence 
of sincerity, had nominated President Lincoln for re-elec- 
tion, and a General of the Union army for Governor, on 
a platform which had no uncertain sound as regarded the 
prosecution of the war. Upon these broad declarations 
the gallant Oglesby and patriotic Moulton boldly met their 
adversary, and routed him horse, foot and dragoon. The 
majority for the Eepublican State ticket was 31,675, and 



164 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

for the National ticket 30,676. This result clearly showed 
that the people, irrespective of party leaders, were in favor 
of sustaining the Union by a vigorous prosecution of the 
war. 

The aggregate vote for the State officers, Congressman- 
at-Large, Congressmen by districts, and Presidential elec- 
tors, is as follows : 

Governor. 

Eichard J. Oglesby, E 190,376 

James C. Eobinson, D 158,701 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

William Bross, E 188,842 

S. Corning Judd, D 158,244 

Secretary of State. 

Sharon Tyndale, E 190,154 

Wm. A. Turney, D 158,833 

Auditor. 

0. H. Miner, E 190.231 

John Hise, P 158,727 

Treasurer. 

James H. Beveridge, E 190,199 

Alexander Starne, D 158,792 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Newton Bateman, E 190,280 

John P. Brooks, D 158,777 

Congressman-at-Large. 

S. W. Moulton, E 190,226 

J. C. Allen 158,784 

Members of Congress — First District. 

John Wentworth, E 18,557 

Cyrus H. McCormick 14,277 

Second District. 

John F. Farnsworth, E 18,298 

M. C. Johnson 5,237 



politics and politicians of illinois. 165 

Thied Distbict. 

Elihu B. Washburne, B '. . 15,711 

Elias B. Stiles 7,421 

Scattering 4 

Fourth District. 

Abner C. Harding, E 13,569 

Charles M. Harris 12,721 

Fifth District. 

Eben C. IngersoU, K 18,152 

James S. Eckles 11,282 

Sixth District. 

Burton C. Cook, K 15,598 

Samuel K. Casey 9,980 

Seventh District. 

H. P. H. Bromwell, D 15,363 

John E. Eden 12,027 

Eighth District. 

Shelby M. Cullom, E 15,812 

John T. Stuart 14,027 

Ninth District. 

Lewis W. Eoss, D 15,296 

Hugh Fullerton 12,239 

Tenth District. 

Anthony Thornton, D. 16,902 

N. M. Knapp 12,176 

Eleventh District. 

Samuel S. MarshaU, D 16,703 

Ethelbert CaUahan 10,696 

Twelfth District. 

Jehu Baker, E 11,817 

Wm. E. Morrison 11,741 



166 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Thirteenth District. 

Andrew J. Kuykendall, R 11,742 

William J. Allen 10,759 

Milton Bartley 57 

Presidential Electors — Lincoln, II. 

John Dougherty 189,505 

Francis A. Hoffman 189,503 

Benjamin M. Prentiss 189,506 

John V. Farwell 189,517 

Anson S. Miller 189,518 

John V. Eustace 189,505 

James S. Poage 189,518 

John I. Bennett 189,519 

William T. Hopkins 189,517 

Frankhn Blades 189,518 

J. C. Conkling 189,517 

Wilham Walker 189,518 

Thomas W. Harris 189,518 

N. M. McCurdy 189,519 

Henry S. Baker 189.518 

Z. S. Chfford 189,521 

McClellan, D. 

Chauncey L. Higbee 158,829 

Arno Voss 158,519 

Nathan S. Davis 158,519 

Samuel Ashton 158,726 

H. T. Helm 158,726 

William Barge 158,726 

Henry K. Peffer 158,726 

John T. Lmdsay 158,725 

Sherman W. Bowen 158,726 

Abram L. Keller 158,726 

Adlai E. Stephenson 158,726 

J. C. Thompson 158,726 

John M. Woodson 158,726 

H. K. S. O'Melveney 158.726 

Thomas Dimmock 158,726 

Cresa K. Davis 158,726 




vsvvKii \w<;\\ ■sviw. <i v.\c co 




INLAND I.:.,.'^ "J.HL.Y 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 167 



CHAPTER XVII. 



STATE GOVERNMENT-1865. 



Governor — E. J. Oglesby. 

Lieutenant-Governor — William Bross. 

Secretary of State — Sharon Tyndale. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — 0. H. Miner. 

Treasurer — Jas. H. Beveridge. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Twenty-fourth General Assembly. 

The Twenty-fourth General Assembly convened the 2d 
day of January, and consisted of the following members : 

Senate. 

Wm. H. Green, Cairo. ^ James Strain, Monmouth. 

John W. Wescott, Xenia. A. C. Mason, Galesburg. 

Daniel Reily, Kaskaskia. John T, Lindsay, Peoria. 

David K. Green, Salem. W. Bushnell, Ottawa, 

A. W. Metcalf, Edwardsville. A. W. Mack, Kankakee. 
L. E. Worcester, Whitehall. E. R. Allen, Aurora. 

H. M. Vandeveer, Taylorville. Daniel Eichard, Sterling. 

Andrew J. Hunter, Paris. A. Webster, Eock Island. 

Joseph Peters, Danville. J. H. Addams, Cedarville. 

Isaac Funk, Bloomington. C. Lansing, Marengo. 

John B. Cohrs, Pekin. F, A. Eastman, Chicago. 

M. McConnel, Jacksonville. J. D. Ward, Chicago. 

B. T. Schofield, Carthage. 

House of Representatives. 

Henry W. Webb, Cairo. W. H. Logan, Murphysboro. 

Wm. A. Looney, Vienna. Isaac Miller, Nashville. 

C. Burnett, Elizabethtown. W. K. Murphy, Pinckneyville 

D. H. Morgan, Eussellville. Austin James, Michie. 
John Ward, Benton. S. E. Stephenson, Salem. 



168 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



V. S. Benson, McLeansboro. John L. Tincher, Danyille. 
Thomas Cooper, Willow Hill. Solomon L. Spink, Paris. 
Lewis W. Miller, Olney. Isaac C. Pugh, Decatur. 
Geo. H. Deickman, Vandalia. Lewis J. Bond, Monticello. 
J. Shelby, Maple Grove. C. A. Lake, Kankakee, 
Nathaniel Niles, Belleville. Charles H. Wood, Onarga. 
John Thomas, Belleville. A. J. Mclntyre, Wilmington. 
Julius J. Barnsback, Troy. Wm. T. Hopkins, Morris. 
H. Dresser, Cottonwood G've Franklin Corwin, LaSalle. 
H. B. Decius, Majority Point. John Miller, Freedom. 
Wm. Middlesworth, Windsor Jason W. Strevell, Pontiac. 
Elisha E. Barrett, Butler. Henry D. Cook, Kappa. 
Ambrose M. Miller, Lincoln. G. D. Henderson, Granville. 



James W. Patton, Berlin. 
Sergeant Gobble, Scottsville. 
John McDonald, Hardin. 
Nathaniel M. Perry, Kane. 
J. F. Curtis, Manchester. 
Scott Wike, Pittsfield. 
King Kerley, Mt. Sterling. 
John Hill, Petersburg. 
J. T. Springer, Jacksonville. 
Thomas Kedmond, Quincy, 
W. T. Yeargain, Columbus. 
Wm. H. Neece, Macomb. 
Joseph Sharon, Augusta. 
M. M. Morrill, Nauvoo. 
J. Simpson, Oquawka, 
Jas. H. Martin, Monmouth. 
J. M. Holyoke, Wataga. 
L. W. James, Lewiston. 
T. M. Morse, Fairview. 
Richard C. Dunn, Toulon. 
Alexander McCoy, Peoria. 
S. E. Saltonstall, Tremont. 
Harrison Noble, Heyworth. 
John Warner, Clinton. 



Wm. C. Stacy, Princeton. 
Milton M. Ford, Galva. 
Jos. W. Lloyd, Edgington. 
Leander Smith, Fulton. 
0. W. Bryant, Paw Paw Gr. 

D. J. Pinckney, Mt. Morris. 
Allen C. Fuller, Belvidere. 
Ira V. Randall, DeKalb. 
0. C. Johnson, Kendall. 
S. S. Mann, Elgin. 

E. B. Payne, Waukegan. 
M. L. Joslyn, Woodstock. 
Wm. Brown, Rockford. 
H, C. Burchard, Freeport. 
John D. Piatt, Warren. 
Daniel W. Dame, Lanark. 
Henry C. Childs, Wheaton. 
N. W. Huntley, Chicago. 
Ansel B. Cook, Chicago. 
Wm. Jackson, Orland. 
Ed. S. Isham, Chicago. 

A. H. Dalton, Hope. 

A. F. Stephenson, Chicago. 

George Strong, Wheeling. 



Maiden Jones, Tuscola. 

Lieutenant-Governor Bross was the presiding officer of 
the Senate, and John F. Nash, of LaSalle, was elected 
Secretary, over Maning Mayfield, of Massac, by a vote 
of 14 to 8. 

Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, was elected Speaker of the 
House, over Ambrose M. Miller, of Logan, by a vote of 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 169 

48 to 23, and Walter S. Frazier, of Cook, Clerk, over John 
Q. Harmon, of Alexander, by a vote of 50 to 21. 

Those of the new members of this body who were able 
and active, were : D. K. Green, Metcalf, Colirs, Lindsay, 
Bushnell, Ward, Webb, Burnett, Murphy, Corwin, Ford, 
Joslyn. 

Eichard Yates, the retiring Governor, presented his mes- 
sage to the two houses on the 3d. One of his special 
recommendations was the repeal of the "black laws". An 
elaborate statement was given relating to the affairs of the 
State in general, and notwithstanding the Nation had passed 
through a long and expensive war, it was shown that 
Illinois had continued to advance in prosperity, and that 
for the four years ending December, 1864, the State debt 
had been reduced $987,786.24. 

Eichard Yates was known as one of the war Governors, 
and all his energy and ability were directed in saving the 
Union. He was truly a great and sagacious man. When 
the tocsin of war was sounded he was prompt in respond- 
ing to the call of the National Government for troops, to 
aid in putting down the rebellion ; he had the moral 
courage to do that which would best serve the Nation in 
its efforts to preserve its own life ; he laid aside his party 
predilections, and labored and thought only of saving the 
Union intact; he comprehended the magnitude of the re- 
bellion at once, and was early in advising President 
Lincoln as to the policy of declaring the slaves free, and 
allowing them to fight in defense of the flag that was to 
protect them in their liberty. He retired from the office 
with the love and admiration of his countrymen. 

The two houses met in joint session January 4, and 
elected Eichard Yates United States Senator, over James 
C. Eobinson, by a vote of 64 to 43. 

The assembly met in joint session on the 16th, when 
the incoming Governor, E. J. Oglesby, was inaugurated. 



170 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and his message read. He referred in appropriate terms 
to the conflict through which the country was passing; 
invited special attention to the recommendations in the 
message of his predecessor ; he urged strict economy in every 
department ; he recommended that action be taken for the 
disposition and utilization of the grant of land, donated 
by Congress in 1862, to the State for college purposes ; 
he recommended that a law be passed allowing the soldiers 
in the field to vote ; he recommended to the care and at- 
tention of the General Assembly the vast multitude of 
helpless orphans who had been deprived of the protection 
of kind fathers, who had given their lives to the country ; 
he urged the adoption of the 13th amendment to the Na- 
tional Constitution, abolishing slavery. 

The duration of the session was just forty-five days. 
Among the public laws enacted was a law requiring the 
holders of the so-called Macallister and Stebbins bonds 
to surrender the same by July Ist, 1865, under certain 
penalties, or by January 1st, 1866, under other and heavier 
penalties ; $3,000 was appropriated for the purpose of 
paying the proportion of the State in furnishing the Sol- 
diers' National Cemetery at Grettysburg ; an act was passed 
to establish a home for the children of deceased soldiers, 
(this was the foundation of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 
at Normal) ; $25,000 was appropriated to purchase the 
tract of land on which reposed the remains of Stephen 
A. Douglas; an experimental school for the instruction 
and training of idiots and feeble-minded children was au- 
thorized, and the sum of $5,000, annually, was appro- 
priated for that purpose. From this humble beginning 
has grown the Feeble-Minded Institute now in successful 
operation at Lincoln. The "black laws" were repealed at 
this session, and the 13th amendment to the National 
Constitution, abohshing slavery, was ratified. 



POIilTIOS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 171 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
ILLINOIS AND THE WAR. 



Prompt Response to the Call for Soldiers to Put Down the Rebellion- 
Number of Soldiers Furnished, by Counties— Allen C. Fuller. 



We pass briefly over the part Illinois took in the great 
war to preserve the Union, for the simple reason that the 
deeds of her brave soldiers and their gallant leaders are 
already a part of the history of both the State and Nation. 
No history, whether National or Confederate, has been 
written since that unfortunate conflict which does not con- 
tain honorable mention of their gallant deeds upon many 
hotly contested battlefields ; while the carefully prepared 
oflicial reports of Adjutant-Generals Mather, Fuller and 
Haynie, give the name and rank of every soldier from 
Illinois, who took part in that war. But, better than all, 
the memory of their heroic patriotism is indelibly stamped 
upon the hearts of our people ; and only when the cycles 
of time cease, will it be forgotten. 

On the 15th of April, one day after the surrender of 
Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued his proclamation 
calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to repossess and pre- 
serve the property of the Nation. Jefferson Davis, Presi- 
dent of the so-called Confederate Government, also issued 
a proclamation calling his people to arms, and the issue 
of war between the two sections was distinctly made. 
Under the call of President Lincoln, the quota of Illinois 
was 6,000 men. Governor Yates was quick to issue his 



172 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

proclamation convening the Legislature, to provide such 
measures as were necessary to fill the call and put the 
State upon a war footing. In ten days thereafter the 
quota of Illinois was filled, and more than a million dol- 
lars tendered the Governor by the capitalists of the State 
to aid in the maintenance of the integrity of the Union; 
and while it is true that there was a division of sentiment 
among the parties political, regarding the policy of the 
Government and the means employed to overcome the 
rebellion and preserve the Union, yet Illinois never fal- 
tered in responding to the calls of the Nation in that great 
emergency. 

Number of Soldiers Furnished. 

We here present the reader with an authentic statement 
as to the number of soldiers furnished by Illinois in the 
war, by counties, as shown by the ofl&cial records in the 
Adjutant-General's office : 

Adams, 5173 ; Alexander, 1358 ; Bond, 1148 ; Boone, 1337 ; 
Brown, 1215 ; Bureau, 3626 ; Calhoun, 528 ; Carroll, 1498 ; 
Cass, 1312 ; Champaign, 2276 ; Christian, 1369 ; Clark, 
1560; Clay, 1482; Clinton, 1332; Coles, 2741; Cook, 22,436; 
Crawford, 1323 ; Cumberland, 920 ; DeKalb, 2391 ; DeWitt, 
1522; Douglas, 1175; DuPage, 1524; Edgar, 2312; Ed- 
wards, 625; Effingham, 1202; Fayette, 1629; Ford, 271; 
Franklin, 1241; Fulton, 3739; Gallatin, 1362; Greene, 
1940; Grundy, 1343; Hamilton, 1226; Hancock, 3272; 
Hardin, 569 ; Henderson, 1330 ; Henry, 3077 ; Iroquois, 
1769 ; Jackson, 1422 ; Jasper, 948 ; Jefferson, 1330 ; Jersey, 
1229 ; Jo Daviess, 2513 ; Johnson, 1426 ; Kane, 3873 ; Kan. 
kakee, 1764 ; Kendall, 1551 ; Knox, 3837 ; Lake, 1890 ; La- 
Salle, 5942; Lawrence, 1230; Lee, 2446; Livingston, 1743; 
Logan, 2160; Macon, 2189; Macoupin, 3184; Madison, 
4221; Marion, 1954; Marshall, 1779; Mason, 1531; Mas- 
sac, 880; McDonough, 2734; McHenry, 2533; McLean, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 173 

4349; Menard, 1225; Mercer, 1848; Monroe, 1227; Mont- 
gomery, 1620; Morgan, 2732; Moultrie, 773; Ogle, 2953; 
Peoria, 4907 ; Perry, 1468 ; Piatt, 1055 ; Pike, 3132 ; Pope, 
1253; Pulaski, 643; Putnam, 707; Kandolph, 2099; Rich- 
land, 1577; Rock Island, 2473; Saline, 1280; Sangamon, 
5010; Schuyler, 1570; Scott, 1212; Shelby, 270; Stark, 
1084; St. Clair, 4396; Stephenson, 3168; Tazewell, 2700; 
Union, 1846; Vermilion, 2596; Wabash, 707; Warren, 
2455; Washington, 1744; Wayne, 1613; White, 1984; 
Whiteside, 2535; Will, 3696; Williamson, 1675; Winne- 
bago, 3187; Woodford, 1643. 

The total number was 226,592, being apportioned among 
two regiments of artillery, seventeen cavalry, and one 
hundred and forty-nine infantry. 

The grand total of Illinois soldiers who gave their lives 
in defence of their country's flag, as recorded in the Ad- 
jutant-General's office, is 28,842, but who can tell how 
many since the close of that never-to-be-forgotten struggle, 
have gone to their eternal rest. 

Allen C. Fuller. 
Among the many men who served the State with dis- 
tinction during the war, deserving special mention in 
this connection, is Gen. Allen C. Fuller, who occupied 
a seat upon the bench in the thirteenth circuit, hi 1861, 
when he was tendered the appointment of Adjutant- 
-General. His high character as a man, and his splen- 
did executive ability, soon won for him the confidence 
and admiration of all with whom he came in contact, 
and to his sagacity and untiring energy was the State 
indebted to a very large degree for the proud position she 
attained during the rebellion for promptness in organizing 
and arming her soldiers. A committee of the General 
Assembly which had been appointed to examine his office, 
was unanimous in praise of its management. We make 
the following extract from that report : 



174 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

" That we have thoroughly examined the office of the 
Adjutant- General and find it a model in completeness ; 
one that preserves in all its glory the proud records of 
our soldiery, and reflects infinite credit upon the great 
State whose sons they are. 

"That in the judgment of the committee, the thanks 
of every patriot citizen of the State are due to Gen. Fuller 
for the able and efficient manner in which he has dis- 
charged the duties of the office, and for his indefatigable 
efforts in collecting and preserving this glorious record of 
a glorious State." 

Gov. Yates was equally complimentary in his biennial 
messages regarding the services of Gen. Fuller, and ac- 
knowledged himself deeply indebted to him for his hearty 
co-operation and able management of the military affairs 
of the State. In 1864 Gen. Fuller was elected Eepresenta- 
tive in the Twenty-fourth General Assembly, and resign- 
ing the office of Adjutant-General, was elected Speaker of 
that body, and so able and impartial was he as a presid- 
ing officer that a resolution heartily thanking him for 
" the kind, courteous, able and impartial manner in which 
he had presided over them," was adopted by a unani- 
mous vote. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
JOHN A, LOGAN, 



A Slander Eefuted— DecHnatlon to Become a Candidate for Congressman- 
at-Large in 1862— Patriotic Address to His Commaud in 1863— When 
Mcpherson Fell— Sherman's Official Account of Logan's Gallantry. 



It has not been our purpose to use these pages for ex- 
tolling the deeds of the men who took part in the great 
civil war, one above another, but it is due our readers 




C^, -5>2^ 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 175 

that we should put into history a true statement regard- 
ing the position occupied by Gen, John A. Logan at the 
time of the breaking out of the rebellion, for the reason 
that it is misunderstood by many persons who are entitled 
to know the facts as they exist, and for the further reason 
that the calumny so often uttered against him, should not 
go down to posterity without an unqualified denial. The 
substance of all the charges is, that he was disloyal to 
the Government when the war began, and that he had 
aided in recruiting soldiers in Illinois for the Southern 
army ; yet among all who have made these charges, from 
first to last, no man of character or personal responsi- 
bility has dared to come forward and make a specific 
charge or father one. 

It is said that Logan did not approve the great speech 
made by Senator Douglas, at Springfield, in April, 1861, 
wherein he took the bold ground that in the contest which 
was then clearly imminent to him, between the North and 
the South, that there could be but two parties, patriots and 
traitors. But, granting that there was a difference between 
Douglas and Logan at that time, it did not relate to their 
adhesion to the cause of their country. Logan had fought 
for the Union upon the plains of Mexico, and again stood 
ready to give his life, if need be, for his country, even 
amid the cowardly slanders that were then following his 
pathway. The difference between Douglas and Logan was 
this : Mr. Douglas was fresh from an extended campaign 
in the dissatisfied sections of the Southern States, and he 
was fully apprised of their intention to attempt the over- 
throw of the Union, and was therefore in favor of the 
most stupendous preparations for war. Mr. Logan, on 
the other hand, believed in exhausting all peaceable means 
before a resort to arms, and in this he was like President 
Lincoln ; but when he saw there was no other alternative 
but to fight, he was ready and willing for armed resistance, 



176 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

and, resigning his seat in Congress, entered the army as 
Colonel of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, and remained 
in the field in active service until peace was declared. 

In support of the declaration that there is no founda- 
tion in fact for the charge of disloyalty against Gen. 
Logan, we have only to refer briefly to his conduct as a 
soldier while the war was waged, and to his utterances, 
which were never doubtful in meaning. Whatever may be 
the belief of his enemies to the contrary, his acts must 
forever silence the slander, but his mRiigners may never 
be able to distinguish between a desire to settle the differ- 
ences between the North and the South without a :»Bort 
to arms, and overt treason to the Government, and we 
shall not attempt to make them understand it, for there 
are none so blind as those who can see but will not. 

In the summer of 1862, when the Union Bepublicans 
and war Democrats were anxious for Gen. Logan to return 
home and make the race for Congress from the State-at- 
large, he addressed, under date of August 26, a patriotic 
letter to 0. M. Hatch, Secretary of State, declining the 
honor. 7rom it we extract this passage: 

" I am to-day a soldier of this Republic, so to remain, 
changeless and immutable, until her last and weakest 
enemy shall have expired and par '^■' '•way. Ambitious 
men, who have not a true love for their count-y at heart, 
may bring forth crude and bootless questions to agitate 
the pulse of our troubled Nation and thwart the preserva- 
tion of this Union, but for none of such am I. I have 
entered the field to die, if needs be, for this Government, 
and never expect to return to peaceful pursuits until the 
object of this war for preservation has become a fact 
established." 

In view of the extraordinary position assumed by the 
Twenty-third General Assembly in regard to the prosecu- 
tion of the war, Gen. Logan issued a stirring address 
while at Memphis, Tennessee, under date of February 12^ 
1863, to the soldiers under his command, from which we 
make the following extract : 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 177 

"I am aware that influences of the most discouraging 
and treasonable character, well calculated and desigued 
to render you dissatistied, have recently been brought to 
bear upon some of you by professed friends. Newspapers, 
containing treasonable articles, artfully falsifying the pub- 
lic sentiment at your homes, have been circulated in your 
camps. Intriguing political tricksters, demagogues and 
time-servers, whose corrupt deeds are but a faint reflex 
of their more corrupt hearts, seem determined to drive 
our people on to anarchy and destruction. They have 
hoped, by magnifying the reverses of our arms, basely 
misrepresenting the conduct and slandering the character 
of our soldiers in the field, and boldly denouncing the acts 
of the constituted authorities of the Government as uncon- 
stitutional usurpations, to produce general demoralization 
in the army, and thereby reap their political reward, weaken 
the cause we have espoused, and aid those arch traitors 
of the South to dismember our mighty Eepublic, and trail 
in the dust the emblem of our National unity, greatness 
and glory. Let me remind you, my countrymen, that we 
are soldiers of the Federal Union, armed for the preser- 
vation of the Federal Constitution, and the maintenance 
of its laws and authority. Upon your faithfulness and 
devotion, heroism and gallantry, depend its perpetuity. 
To us has been committed this sacred inheritance, baptized 
in the blood of our fathers, "^e are soldiers of a Govern- 
ment that has always blessed us with prosperity and hap- 
piness. 

"It has given to every American citizen the largest 
freedom and the most perfect equality of rights and privi- 
leges. It has afforded us security in person and property, 
and blessed us until, under its beneficent influence, we 
were the proudest Nation on earth. 

" We should be united in our efforts to put down a re- 
bellion that now, like an earthquake, rocks the Nation 
from State to State, from center to circumference, and 
threatens to engulf us all in one common ruin, the horrors 
of which no pen can portray. We have solemnly sworn 
to bear true faith to this Government, preserve its Con- 
stitution, and defend its glorious flag against all its ene- 
mies and opposers. To our hands has been committed 
the liberties, the prosperity and happiness of future gen- 
erations. Shall we betray such a trust ? Shall the brilliancy 
of your past achievements be dimmed and tarnished by 
hesitation, discord and dissension, whilst armed traitors 
—12 



178 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

menace you in front, and unarmed traitors intrigue against 
you in the rear? We are in no way responsible for any 
action of the civil authorities. We constitute the military 
arm of the Government. That the civil power is threat- 
ened and attempted to be paralyzed, is the reason for 
resort to the military power. To aid the civil authorities 
(nob to oppose or obstruct) in the exercise of their author- 
ity is our office ; and shall we forget this duty, and stop 
to wrangle and dispute, while the country is bleeding at 
every pore, on this or that political act or measure, whilst 
a fearful wail of anguish, wrung from the heart of a dis- 
tracted people, is borne upon every breeze, and widows 
and orphans are appealing to us to avenge the loss of 
their loved ones who have fallen by our side in defence 
of its old blood-stained banner, and whilst the Temple of 
Liberty itself is being shaken to the very center by the 
ruthless blows of traitors who have desecrated our flag, 
obstructed our National highways, destroyed our peace, 
desolated our firesides, and draped thousands of our homes 
in mourning? 

"Let us stand firm at our posts of duty and honor, 
yielding a cheerful obedience to all orders from our supe- 
riors, until, by our united efforts, the stars and stripes 
shall be planted in every city, town and hamlet of the 
rebellious States. We can then return to our homes and 
through the ballot-box peaceably redress all our wrongs, 
if any we have." 

It required more courage to write this address than it 
did to fight a battle, for there was then great opposition 
all over the North to the liberation of the slaves ; even 
among distinguished Kepublicans grave doubts were enter- 
tained as to the policy of emancipation, and the former 
declarations of President Lincoln show conclusively that 
he issued the proclamation with reluctance. 

Bat the best test of General Logan's love of country 
or patriotism was after the battle before Atlanta, on the 
2'2d of July, 1864, where General McPherson was killed. 
General Sherman, in his report of this battle, says : 

*' Not more than &alf an hour after General McPherson 
had left me, viz : about 12 :30 p. m., of the 22d, his Ad- 
jutant-General, Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, rode up and 
reported that General McPherson was either dead or a 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 179 

prisoner ; that he had ridden from me to General Dodge's 
column, moving as heretofore described, and had sent off 
nearly all his staff and orderlies on various errands, and 
himself had passed into a narrow path or road that led 
to the left and rear of General Giles A. Smith's division, 
which was General Blair's extreme left; that a few min- 
utes after he had entered the woods a sharp volley was 
heard in that direction, and his horse had come out 
riderless, having two wounds. The suddenness of this ter- 
rible calamity would have overwhelmed me with grief, 
but the living demanded my whole thoughts. I instantly 
despatched a staff officer to General John A. Logan, com- 
manding the 15th corps, to tell him what had happened ; 
that he must assume command of the Army of the Ten- 
nessee, and hold, stubbornly, the ground already chosen, 
more especially the hill gained by General Leggett the 

night before 

About 4 p. m. there was quite a lull, during which the 
enemy fell forward on the railroad and main Decatur 
road, and suddenly assailed a regiment which, with a 
section of guns, had been thrown forward as a kind of 
picket, and captured the two guns ; he then advanced 
rapidly and broke through our lines at that point, which 
had been materially weakened by the withdrawal of Colo- 
nel Martin's brigade, sent by General Logan's order to 
the extreme left. The other brigade. General Lightburn, 
which held this part of the line, fell back in some disor- 
der, about four hundred yards, to a position held by it 
the night before, leaving the enemy for a time in posses- 
sion of two batteries, one of which, a 20-pounder Parrott 
battery of four guns, was most valuable to us, and sepa- 
rating General Wood's and General Harrow's divisions of 
the 15th corps, that were on the right and left of the 
railroad. Being in person close by the spot, and appre- 
ciating the vast importance of the connection at that point, 
I ordered certain batteries of General Schofield to be 
moved to a position somewhat commanding, by a left 
flank fire, and ordered an incessant tire of shells on the 
enemy within sight, and the woods beyond, to prevent his 
reinforcing. I also sent orders to General Logan, which 
he had already anticipated, to make the 15th corps regain 
its lost ground at any cost, and instructed General Woods, 
supported by General Schofield, to use his division and 
sweep the parapet down from where he held it until he 
saved the batteries and recovered the lost ground. The 
whole was executed in superb style, at times our men and 



180 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the enemy fighting across the narrow parapet, but at last 
the enemy gave way and the 15th corps regained its po- 
sition and all the guns except the two advanced ones 
which were out of view, and had been removed by the 
enemy within his main work. With this terminated the 
battle of the 22d, which cost us 3,722 killed, wounded and 
prisoners. 

"But among the dead was Major-General McPherson, 
whose body was recovered and brought to me in the heat 
of the battle, and I had it sent, in charge of his personal 
staff, back to Marietta, on its way to his Northern home. 
He was a noble youth, of striking personal appearance, 
of the highest professional capacity, and with a heart 
abounding in kindness, that drew to him the affections of 
all men. His sudden death devolved the command of the 
army on the no less brave and gallant General Logan, 
who nobly sustained his reputation and that of his vete- 
ran army, and avenged the death of his comrade and 
commander. The enemy left on the field his dead and 
wounded, and about a thousand well prisoners. His dead 
alone are computed by General Logan at 3,240, of which 
number 2,200 were from actual count, and of these he 
delivered to the enemy, under a flag of truce, sent in by 
him (the enemy) 800 bodies. I entertain no doubt that in 
the battle of July 22d, the enemy sustained an aggregate 
loss of fall 8,000 men." 

This was one of the greatest battles of the war, and it 
was won by General Logan, as General Sherman himself 
attests, and according to the usages of war he was enti- 
tled to command the Army of the Tennessee, but General 
Sherman, estimating him as only a General of volunteers, 
pushed him aside and gave the command to General How- 
ard, an officer of the regular army. Other Generals have 
resigned their commands in the very face of the enemy 
with far less provocation than this, but General Logan, 
true to the vow he had taken, never wavered in devotion 
to the cause of his country, nor did he resign his position 
until he had seen the stars and stripes triumphantly un- 
furled over every capitol of every Confederate State. 

We have taken occasion to make this defense in this 
broad and unequivocal manner because we were then a 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 181 

citizen of the section of the State in which General Logan 
resided, and because of our personal knowledge of all his 
movements at that time, and because, as yet, no historian 
has given the charges the denial their gravity demands; 
and because, further, it is due him and his family, and his 
children who are to live after him. 



CHAPTER XX. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN- 



An account of his early manhood as written by himself— Speech at Philadel- 
phia—First Inaugural— Speech at Gettysburg— KentucliyLt^tter-Second 
Inaugural— Last Speech— Assassination— How Lincoln eame to Challenge 
Douglas— Never an Abolitionist— "I have never kept lictuor in my house 
and will not begin now"— A One-Idea Court. 



The subject of this chapter was, perhaps, the most re- 
markable man of the age in which he lived, and while 
his life has been written times without number, yet we feel 
that this volume is the place in which should be preserved 
some of his most gifted official utterances, together with 
a brief statement of his early life and tragic death. 

We begin with an account of his birth and early man- 
hood, as written by himself to his personal friend, Jesse 
W. Fell, of Normal. It is a literal copy, being taken from 
the original. 

"I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin county, Ky. 
My parents were both born in Virginia of undistinguished 
families — second families, perhaps I should say. My 
mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of 
the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, 
and others in Macon counties, Illinois. My paternal grand- 
father, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham 



182 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

county, Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or 1782, where, 
a year or two later, he was killed by Indians — not in bat- 
tle, but by stealth — when he was laboring to open a farm 
in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to 
Virginia from Berks county, Pennsylvania. An effort to 
identify them with the New England family of the same 
name ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of 
Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, 
Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. My father, 
at the death of his father, was but 6 years of age, and 
lie grew up literally without any education. He removed 
from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, 
in my 8th year. We reached our new home about the 
time the State came into the Union. It was a wild re- 
gion, with many bears and other wild animals still in the 
woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so- 
called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher 
beyond 'readin', writin,' and cipherin" to the rule of three. 
If a straggler, supposed to understand Latin, happened 
to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a 
wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition 
for education. Of course, when I came of age, I did not 
know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher 
to the rule of three, but that was all. I have not been 
to school since. The little advance I now have upon this 
store of education I have picked up from time to time 
under the pressure of necessity. I was raised to farm 
work, which I continued till I was 22. At 21 I came to 
Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon county. Then 
I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in 
Menard, county, where I remained a year as a sort of 
clerk in a store. Then came the Black Hawk war, and 
I was elected a captain of volunteers — a success which 
gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I 
went into the campaign, was elected ; ran for the Legisla- 
ture the same year (1832) and was beaten — the only time 
I ever have been beaten by the people. The next and 
three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the Legis- 
lature. I was not a candidate afterwards. During this Legis- 
lative period I had studied law and removed to Springfield to 
practice it. In 1846, 1 was elected to the lower house of Con- 
gress. Was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 
to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously 
than before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on 
the Whig electoral ticket, making active canvasses. I was 
losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 183 

Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since 
then is pretty well known. If any personal description of 
me is thought desirable, it may be said I am in height 
6 feet, 4 inches nearly, lean in flesh, weighing, on an 
average, 180 pounds, dark complexion, with coarse black 
hair and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recol- 
lected." 

"Yours very truly, 

"A. Lincoln." 
"Hon. J. W. Fell." 

Speech at Philadelphia. 

On his way to Washington to assume the office of Presi- 
dent, Mr. Lincoln stopped a day at Philadelphia, and, in 
response to an address of welcome by the Mayor, he spoke 
as follows : 

" Mr. Mayor and Fellow-citizens of Philadelphia: I ap- 
pear before you to make no lengthy speech, but to thank 
you for this reception. The reception you have given me 
to-night is not to me, the man, the individual, but to the 
man who temporarily represents, or should represent, the 
majesty of the Nation. It is true, as your worthy Mayor 
has said, that there is anxiety amongst the citizens of 
the United States at this time. I deem it a happy cir- 
cumstance that this dissatisfied position of our fellow- 
citizens does not point us to anything in which they are 
being injured, or about to be injured, for which reason 
1 have felt all the while justified in concluding that 
the crisis, the panic, the anxiety of the country at 
this time is artificial. If there be those who differ 
with me upon this subject, they have not pointed out 
the substantial difficulty that exists. I do not mean 
to say that an artificial panic may not do considera- 
ble harm ; that it has done such I do not deny. The 
hope that has been expressed by your Mayor, that I may 
be able to restore peace, harmony, and prosperity to t)ie 
country, is most worthy of him; and happy, indeed, will 
I be if 1 shall be able to verify and fulfill that hope. I 
promise you, in all sincerity, that I bring to the work a 
sincere heart. Whether I will bring a head equal to that 
heart will be for future times to determine. It were use- 
less for me to speak of details of plans now; I shall speak 
officially next Monday week, if ever. If I should not 
speak then it were useless for me to do so now. When 



184 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS, 

I do speak I shall take such ground as I deem best cal- 
culated to restore peace, harmony, and prosperity to the 
country, and tend to the perpetuity of the Nation and 
the liberty of these States and these people. Your worthy 
Mayor has expressed the wish, in which I join with him, 
that it were convenient for me to remain in your city 
long enough to consult your merchants and manufactur- 
ers ; or, as it were, to listen to those breathings rising 
within the consecrated walls wherein the Constitution of 
the United States, and I will add, the Declaration of 
Independence, were originally framed and adopted. I 
assure you and your Mayor that I had hoped, on this 
occasion, and upon all occasions during my life, that I 
shall do nothing inconsistent with the teachings of these 
holy and most sacred walls. I never asked anything that 
does not breathe from these walls. All my political war- 
fare has been in favor of the teachings that came forth 
from these sacred walls. 'May my right hand forget its 
cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,' 
if ever I prove false to those teachings. Fellow-citizens, 
I have addressed you longer than 1 expected to do, and 
now allow me to bid you good night." 

Extract From His First Inaugural Address. 

"Fellow Citizens of the United States: In compliance 
with a custom as old as the Government itself, I ap- 
pear before you to address you briefly, and to take, in 
your presence, the oath prescribed hy the Constitution of 
the United States to be taken by the President 'before he 
enters the execution of his office.' 

"I do not consider it necessary at present for me to 
discuss those matters of administration about which there 
is no special anxiety or excitement. 

" Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the 
Southern States that by the accession of a Eepubliean 
Administration their property and their peace and per- 
sonal security are to be endangered. There has never 
been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, 
the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while 
existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in 
nearly all the public speeches of him who now addresses 
you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I 
declare that 'I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to 
interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where 
it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 185 

have no inclination to do so.' Those who nominated and 
elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made 
this and many similar declarations, and had never re- 
canted them. And more than this, they placed in the 
platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves 
and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now 
read: 

" ' Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights 
of the States, and especially the right of each State to 
order and control its own domestic institutions according 
to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to the balance 
of power on which the perfection and endurance of our 
political fabric depend, and we denounce the lawless inva- 
sion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, 
no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of 
crimes.' 

"I now reiterate those sentiments; and, in doing so, I 
only press upon the public attention the most conclusive 
evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the prop- 
erty, peace, and security of no section are to be in any 
wise endangered by the now incoming Administration. I 
add, too, that all the protection which, consistent with 
the Constitution and laws, can be given, will be cheerfully 
given to all the States, when lawfully demanded, for what- 
ever cause — as cheerfully to one section as to another. 

"I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution 
and the laws, the Union is unbroken, and to the extent 
of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitution itself 
expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be 
faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem 
to be only a simple duty on my part ; and I shall per- 
form it, so far as practicable, unless my rightful masters, 
the American people, shall withhold the requisite means, 
or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary. 

" My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well 
upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by 
taking time. If there can be an object to hurry any of 
you in hot haste to a step which you would never take 
deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time ; 
but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such o'f you 
as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution un- 
impaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your own 
framing under it, while the new Administration will have 



186 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it 
were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right 
side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason 
for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity 
and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken 
this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the 
best way, our present difficulty. 

" In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and 
not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The 
Government will not assail you. 

"You can have no conflict without being yourselves the 
aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to 
destroy the Government; while I shall have the most 
solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it. 

"I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. 
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have 
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. 

"The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every 
battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and 
hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the 
chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely 
they will be, by the better angels of our nature." 

Speech at Gettysburg. 

Extract from a speech made at the dedication of the 
National Cemetery, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 
19, 1863. 

" Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
forth on this continent a new Nation, conceived in liberty, 
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created 
equal. 

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing 
whether that Nation, or any nation so conceived and so 
dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great bat- 
tle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion 
of that field as a final resting place for those who here 
gave their lives that that Nation might live. It is alto- 
gether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

"But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate — we cannot 
consecrate — we cannot hallow this ground. The brave 
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have conse- 
crated it far above our power to add or detract. The 
world will little note, nor long remember what we say 
here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 187 

for US, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the un- 
finished work -which they who fought here have thus far 
so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedi- 
cated to the great task remaining before us, that from 
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave the last full measure of devo- 
tion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall 
not have died in vain; that this Nation, under God, shall 
have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish 
from the earth." 

Kentucky Letter. 

"Executive Mansion, Washington, April 4, 1864. 

"A. G. Hodges, Esq., Frankfort, Kentucky. 

" My Dear Sir : — You ask me to put in writing the sub- 
stance of what I verbally stated the other day, in your 
presence, to Governor Bramlette and Senator Dixon. It 
was about as follows: 

*"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, 
nothing is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not so 
think and feel ; and yet I have never understood that the 
Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act 
■officially upon this judgment and feeling. It was in the 
oath I took that I would, to the best of my ability, pre- 
serve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States. I could not take the office without taking the oath. 
Nor was it in my view that I might take the oath to get 
power, and break the oath in using the power. I under- 
stood, too, that in ordinary civil administration this oath 
•even forbade me to practically indulge my primary ab- 
stract judgment on the moral question of slavery. I had 
publicly declared this many times, and in many ways ; 
and I aver that, to this day, I have done no ofdcial -act 
in mere deference to my abstract judgment and feeling 
on slavery. I did understand, however, that my oath to 
preserve the Constitution to the best of my ability, im- 
posed upon me the duty of preserving, by every indis- 
pensable means, that Government, that Nation, of which 
that Constitution was the organic law. Was it possible 
to lose the Nation, and yet preserve the Constitution? 
By general law, life and limb must be protected ; yet often 
a limb must be amputated to save a life, but life is never 
wisely given to save a limb. I felt that measures, other- 
wise unconstitutional, might become lawful by becoming 



188 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

indispensable to the preservation of the Nation, Eight or 
wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could 
not feel that, to the best of my ability, I had even 
tried to preserve the Constitution, if, to save slavery, 
or any minor matter, I should permit the wreck of 
government, country, and constitution altogether. When, 
early in the war, General Fremont attempted mili- 
tary emancipation, I forbade it, because I did not 
then think it an indispensable necessity. When a little 
later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested 
the arming of the blacks, I objected, because I did not 
yet think it an indispensable necessity. When, still later, 
General Hunter attempted military emancipation I forbade 
it, because I did not yet think the indispensable necessity 
had come. When, in March and May and July, 1862, I 
made earnest and successive appeals to the border States 
to favor compensated emancipation, I believed the indis- 
pensable necessity for military emancipation and arming 
the blacks would come, unless averted by that measure. 
They declined the proposition ; and I was, in my best 
judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering 
the Union, and in it the Constitution, or of laying strong 
hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter. In 
choosing it I hoped for greater gain than loss ; but of this 
I was not entirely confident. More than a year of trial 
now shows no loss by it in our foreign relations, none in 
home popular sentiment, none in our white military force, 
— no loss by it anyhow or anywhere. On the contrary, it 
shows a gain of quite a hundred and thirty thousand 
soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These are palpable facts, 
about which, as facts, there can be no caviling. We have 
men, and we could not have had them without the 
measure. 

' " And now let any Union man who complains of the 
measure test himself by writing down in one line that he 
is for subduing the rebellion by force of arms, and in the 
next that he is for taking three (one ?) hundred and thirty 
thousand men from the Union side, and placing them 
where they would be but for the measure he condemns. 
If he cannot face his case so stated, it is only because he 
cannot face the truth. 

* " I add a word which was not in the verbal conver- 
sation. In telling this tale I attempt no compliment to 
my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled events, 
but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 189 

at the end of three years' struggle, the Nation's condi- 
tion is not what either party or any man desired or 
expected, God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending 
seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great 
wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you 
of the South shall pay fairly for our complicity in that 
wrong, impartial history wiil find therein new causes to 
attest and revere the justice and goodness of God. 

Yours truly, 

A. Lincoln.' " 

Skcond Inaugural Address. 

*' Felloiv- Country men: At this second appearing to take 
the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion 
for an extended address than there was at the first. 
Then, a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be 
pursued, seemed very fitting and proper. Now, at the 
expiration of four years, during which public declarations 
have been constantly called forth on every point and 
phase of the great contest which still absorbs the atten- 
tion and engrosses the energies of the Nation, little that 
is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, 
upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to 
the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably 
encouraging to all. 

"With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard 
to it is ventured. On the occasion corresponding to this, 
four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an 
impending civil war. All dreaded it; all sought to avoid 
it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from 
this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without 
war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy 
it, without war — seeking to dissolve the Union and divide 
the effects, by negotiation. 

"Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would 
make war rather than let the Nation survive, and the 
other would accept war rather than let it perish ; and the 
war came. One-eighth of the whole population were col- 
ored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but 
localized in the southern part of it. These slaves consti- 
tuted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that 
this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To 
strengthen, perpetuate and extend this interest, was the 
object for which the insurgents would rend the Union by 



190 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

war, while the Government claimed the right to do no more 
than to restrict the Territorial enlargement of it. 

"Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or 
the duration which it has already attained. Neither an- 
ticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease even 
before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for 
an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and 
astounding. Both read the same Bible and prayed to the 
same God, and each invoked His aid against the other. 

"It may seem strange that any man should dare to ask 
a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the 
sweat of other men's faces. But let us judge not, that we 
be not judged. The prayer of both should not be answered — 
that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has 
his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses, 
for it must needs be that offenses come ; but woe to that 
man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that 
American slavery is one of the offenses that in the provi- 
dence of God must needs come, but which, having con- 
tinued through His appointed time, He now so wills to 
remove that He gives to both North and South this ter- 
rible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense 
came, shall we discern that there is any departure from 
those divine attributes which the believers in a living Go. I 
always ascribe to Him. Fondly do we hope, fervently do 
we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily 
pass away ; yet, if God wills that it continue until all the 
wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty 
years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every 
drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by an- 
other drawn with the sword — as was said three thousand 
years ago, so still it must be said, that the judgments of 
the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 

" With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, 
let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up 
the Nation's wounds, and care for him who shall have 
borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphans — to 
do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting 
peace among ourselves and with all nations." 

Last Speech. 

This speech was delivered April 11, after the surrender 
of Lee, in response to a call from a vast multitude who 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 191 

had assembled to rejoice over the victory our army had 
won : 

" We meet this evening not in sorrow, but gladness of 
heart. The evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, and 
the surrender of the principal insurgent army, gives hopes 
of a righteous and speedy peace, whjse joyous expressions 
can not be restrained. In the midst of this, however, He 
from whom all blessings flow must not be forgotten. A 
call for a National thanksgiving is being prepared, and 
will be duly promulgated. Nor must those whose harder 
part gives us the cause of rejoicing be overlooked. Their 
honors must not be parceled out with others. I myself 
was near the front, and had the high pleasure of trans- 
mitting much of the good news to you. But no part of 
the honor for plan or execution is mine. To Gen. Grant, 
his skillful officers and brave men, all belongs. The gal- 
lant navy stood ready, but was not in reach to take active 
part. By these recent successes the reinauguration of the 
National authority — reconstruction, which has had a large 
share of thought from the first — is pressed much more 
closely upon our attention. It is fraught with great diffi- 
culty. Unlike a war between independent nations, there 
is no authorized organ for us to treat with. No one man 
has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man. 
We must simply begin with, and mold from, disorganized 
and discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional 
embarrassment, that we, the loyal people, differ among 
ourselves as to the mode, manner and measure of recon- 
struction. As a general rule, I abstain from reading the 
reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked 
by that to which I can not properly offer an answer. In 
spite of this precaution, however, it comes to my knowledge 
that I am much censured for some supposed agency in 
setting up and seekmg to sustain the new State govern- 
ment of Louisiana. In this I have done just so much, 
and no more, than the public knows. In the annual mes- 
sage of December, 1863, and the accompanying proclama- 
tion, I presented a plan of reconstruction, as the phrase 
goes, which I promised, if adopted by any State, would 
be acceptable to and sustained by the Executive Govern- 
ment of the Nation. I distinctly stated that this was not 
the only plan which might possibly be acceptable ; and I 
also distinctly protested that the Executive claimed no 
right to say when or whether members should be admitted 
to seats in Congress from such States. This plan was in 



192 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

advance submitted to the then Cabinet, and approved by 
every member of it. One of them suggested that I should 
then, and in that connection, apply the Emancipation 
Proclamation to the heretofore excepted parts of Virginia 
and Louisiana, that I should drop the suggestion about 
apprenticeship for freed people, and that I should omit 
the protest against my own power in regard to the admis- 
sion of members of Congress. But even he approved every 
part and parcel of the plan which has since been employed 
or touched by the action of Louisiana. The new consti- 
tution of Louisiana, declaring emancipation for the whole 
State, practically applies the proclamation to the part 
previously excepted. It does not adopt apprenticeship for 
freed people, and is silent, as it could not well be other- 
wise, about the admission of members to Congress. So 
that as it applied to Louisiana, every member of the Cab- 
inet fully approved the plan. The message went to Con- 
gress, and I received many commendations of the plan, 
written and verbal, and not a single objection to it, from 
any professed emancipationist, came to my knowledge until 
after the news reached Washington that the people of 
Louisiana had begun to move in accordance with it. From 
about July, 1862, I had corresponded with different per- 
sons supposed to be interested in seeking a reconstruction 
of a State government for Louisiana. When the message 
of 1863, with the plan before mentioned, reached New 
Orleans, Gen. Banks wrote to me that he was confident 
that the people, with his military co-operation, would re- 
construct substantially on that plan. I wrote to him and 
some of them to try it. They tried it, and the result is 
known. Such has been my only agency in getting up the 
Louisiana government. As to sustaining it, my promise 
is out, as before stated. But as bad promises are better 
broken than kept, I shall treat this as a bad promise, 
and break it whenever I shall be convinced that keeping 
it is adverse to the public interest, but I have not yet 
been so convinced. 

" I have been shown a letter on this subject, supposed 
to be an able one, in which the writer expresses regret 
that my mind has not seemed to be definitely fixed on the 
question whether the seceded States, so-called, are in the 
Union or out of it. It would, perhaps, add astonishment 
to his regret were he to learn that since I have found 
professed Union men endeavoring to answer that question 
I have purposely forebore any pubHc expression upon it. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 193 

As appears to me, that question has not been, nor yet is 
a practically material one, and that any discussion of it 
while it thus remains practically immaterial, could have 
no eifect other than the mischievous one of dividing our 
friends. As yet, whatever it may become, that question 
is had as a basis of a controversy and good for nothing 
at all — a merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that, 
the seceded States, so-called, are out of their proper 
practical relation with the Union, and that the sole object 
of the Government, civil and military, in regard to those 
States, is to again get them into their proper practical 
relation. I believe that it is not only possible, but, in fact, 
easier to do this without deciding, or even considering, 
whether those States have ever been out of the Union 
than with it. Finding themselves safely at home it would 
be utterly immaterial whether they had been abroad. Let 
us all join in doing the acts necessary to restore the 
proper practical relations between those States and the 
Nation, and each forever after innocently indulge his own 
opinion whether in doing the acts he brought the States 
from without into the Union, or only gave them proper 
assistance, they never having been out of it. The amount 
of constituency, so to speak, on which the Louisiana 
government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it 
contained 50,000, or 30,000, or even 20,000, instead of 
12,000, as it does. It is also unsatisfactory to some that 
the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I 
would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the 
very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as 
soldiers. Still the question is not whether the Louisiana 
government, as it stands, is quite all that is desirable. The 
question is, will it be wiser to take it as it is and help to 
improve it, or to reject and disperse? Can Louisiana be 
brought into practical relation with the Union sooner by 
sustaining or by discarding her new State government? 
Some 12,000 voters in the heretofore slave State of Louis- 
iana have sworn allegiance to the Union, assumed to be 
the rightful political power of the State, held elections, 
organized a State government, adopted a Free State Consti- 
tution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black 
and white, and empowering the Legislature to confer the 
elective franchise upon the colored man. This Legislature 
has already voted to ratify the Constitutional amendment 
recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery throughout 
the Nation. These 12,000 persons are thus fully committed 
—13 



194 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

to the Union and to perpetuate freedom in the State ; 
committed to the very thmgs, and nearly all things, the 
Nation wants, and they ask the Nation's recognition and 
its assistance to make good this committal. Now if we 
reject and spurn them we do our utmost to disorganize 
and disperse them. We in fact say to the white man, you 
are worthless or worse ; we will neither help you, nor be 
helped by you. To the blacks we say: This cup of lib- 
erty which these, your old masters, held to your lips, we 
will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gath- 
ering the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and 
undefined when, where and how. If this course, discour- 
aging and paralyzing both white and black, has any tend- 
ency to bring Louisiana into proper practical relations 
with the Union, I have so far been unable to perceive it. 
If, on the contrary, we recognize and sustain the new 
government of Louisiana, the converse of all this is made 
true. We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of 
12,000 freemen to adhere to their work, and argue for it, 
and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed it, and 
grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The 
colored man, too, in seeing all united for him, is inspired 
with vigilance and energy and daring to the same end. 
Grant tliat he desires the elective franchise, will he not 
attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps 
toward it, than by running backward over them ? Concede 
that the new government of Louisiana is to what it should 
be as the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the 
fowl by hatching the egg, than by smashing it. Again, 
if we reject Louisiana we also reject one vote in favor of 
the proposed amendment to the National Constitution. To 
meet this proposition it has been argued that no more 
than three-fourths of those States which have not at- 
tempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the 
amendment. I do not commit myself against this, further 
than to say that such a ratification would be questionable, 
and sure to be persistently questioned, while a ratification 
by three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned 
and unquestionable. I repeat the question. Can Louisi- 
ana be brought into proper practical relation with the 
Union sooner by sustaining, or by discarding her new 
State government? What has been said of Louisiana will 
apply to other States. And yet so great peculiarities 
pertain to each State, and such important and sudden 
changes occur in the same State, and withal so new and 
unprecedented is the whole case that no exclusive and 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 195 

inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and 
collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would 
surely become a new entanglement. Important principles 
may and must be inflexible. In the present situation, as 
the phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new 
announcement to the people of the South. I am consid- 
ering, and shall not fail to act when satisfied that action 
will be proper." 

Assassination. 

Four days after this speech, April 14, while seated in a 
private box at Ford's Theater with his wife and some 
friends, he was shot by an assassin, and died next morn- 
ing at 7 o'clock. His body was embalmed and lay in 
state for six days, when it was placed on board a funeral 
train of nine cars, which started April 21, at 8 a. m., for 
the burial place at his distant home via Baltimore, Har- 
risburg, Philadelphia, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleve- 
land, Columbus, Indianapolis and Chicago, arriving at 
Springfield, Wednesday, May 3, at 9 a. m., after a jour- 
ney of thirteen days. Thousands upon thousands of grief- 
stricken people thronged the funeral route, and everywhere 
the deepest sorrow was made manifest. At Springfield, 
his body lay in state one day, and was sorrowfully viewed 
by multitudes of men and women from all parts of the 
State, and on May 4 all that was mortal of the great 
statesman was tenderly and affectiona,tely laid to rest at 
Oak Eidge Cemetery, where an enduring monument of 
marble and brass commemorates his memory. But marble 
and brass can add nothing to the fame of Abraham Lin- 
coln; he builded for himself a monument that will live 
when these evidences of love and admiration have passed 
away. 

How Lincoln Came to Challenge Douglas. 

Soon after Mr. Lincoln had been made the candidate 
of the Eepubliean party for United States Senator, in op- 
position to Douglas, he was met by 0. M. Hatch, then 
Secretary of State, who said to Mr. Lincoln: 



196 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"You must challenge Douglas to a joint discussion." 

"I do not know so well about that," said Lincoln. 

" It is Democrats you wish to talk to," replied Hatch, 
" and if you do not avail yourself of those who assemble 
to hear Douglas, you may be sure of never having a Dem- 
ocratic audience." 

Mr. Lincoln readily saw the forcie of Mr. Hatch's re- 
marks and his challenge to Douglas on the 24th of July 
was the result. 

Nevee an Abolitionist. 

The whole life and character of Abraham Lincoln shows 
that while he was always opposed to slavery, he was never 
an Abolitionist in the sense in which Owen Lovejoy, Charles 
Sumner, or Wendell Phillips were. A series of resolu- 
tions passed both branches of the General Assembly of 
Illinois, of which he was a member in 1837, praying the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, to which 
Mr. Lincoln entered his solemn protest in the words fol- 
lowing : 

"Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery hav- 
ing passed both branches of the General Assembly at its 
present session, the undersigned hereby protest against 
the passage of the same. They believe that the institu- 
tion of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy ; 
but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to 
increase than abate its evils. They believe that the Con- 
gress of the United States has no power under the Con- 
stitution to interfere with the institution of slavery in the 
different States. They believe that the Congress of the 
United States has tlie power, under the Constitution, to 
abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, but that 
power ought not to be exercised, unless at the request of 
the people of said District. The difference between these 
opinions and those contained in said resolutions, is their 
reason for entering this protest. 

"Dan Stone, 

" Abraham Lincoln. 

" Representatives of Sangamon County." 

(See House Journal of 1837.) 



politics and politicians op illinois. 197 

" Never kept Liquor in my House and will not Begin Now." 

This characteristic incident in the life of Abraham Lin- 
coln was related to us by one who was present at the 
time it occurred. 8oon after Lincoln received the nomina- 
tion for President at Chicago, Milton Hay, S. M. Cullom, 
0. M. Hatch and John Bumi met in the State Library to 
consult as to the manner of entertaining the National 
Committee, which consisted of one from each State and 
the President of the Convention, which was soon expected 
to visit Springfield for the purpose of formally notifying 
Mr. Lincoln of his nomination. Well understanding his 
position upon the question of temperance, they were at a 
loss to know whether to provide liquor for his guests at his 
home or not. They had not been aware of Mr. Lincoln's 
presence until this subject was reached, when he stepped 
forward and decided the matter for them. He said : " I 
have never kept liquor in my house and will not begin 
now." We are told that a room was provided at the 
Chenery House, which was then the leading hotel of Spring- 
field, where the distinguished visitors were supplied with 
such liquors as they desired. On this question, as upon 
all others, Lincoln stood upon principle, and he was un- 
willing to surrender principle in this case, even though in 
80 doing he might advance his own personal interests. 

"A One-Idea Court." 

This pleasing anecdote is related to us of Abraham Lin- 
coln by a gentleman who frequented the Supreme Court 
room in Springfield, when Lincoln practiced before that 
Court. On one occasion, Judges Breese, Skinner and Caton 
were in the Library, talking of their boyhood days and 
the coincidence of their having all been born in the same 
State — New York — and the same county — Oneida. Just 
then Lincoln stepped in, and having a few days before lost 



198 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

a case which had been tried before the Court, in which 
all three Judges were against him, wittily said : " I thought 
this was a one-i-da Court, and now I know it." 



CHAPTER XXI. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1866, 



Aggregate Vote for State Officers— Congressman-at-Large— Congressmen, 

by Districts. 



The Eepublicans met in State Convention at Spring- 
field, August 8, and nominated George W. Smith, for 
Treasurer ; Newton Bateman, for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, and John A. Logan for Congressman-at- 
Large. 

The Democrats held their Convention at the same place, 
August 29, and nominated Jesse J. Phillips for Treasurer ; 
John M. Crebs, for Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
and T. Lyle Dickey for Congressman-at-Large. 

The Democratic ticket was exceptionally strong, for the 
reason that it was composed exclusively of War-Demo- 
crats — men who Imd served their country gallantly on the 
tented field — and it was believed that if the Democrats 
could carry the State at all, it would be with such a 
ticket, for, aside from their soldierly qualifications, these 
gentlemen were personally popular. 

The campaign was short but vigorous, Logan and 
Dickey making the chief canvass, but the Eepublicans 
were the victors. 

Smith's majority was 65,653; Bateman's, 65,161, and 
Logan's, 65,690. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS, 199 

The Eepublicans elected both branches of the Legisla- 
ture and eleven of the fourteen Congressmen. 

The aggregate vote for State officers, Congressman-at- 
Large, and Congressmen, by districts, is as follows: 

Treasurer. 

George W. Smith, E 203,019 

Jesse J. Phillips, D 147,366 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Newton Bateman, E 203,339 

John M. Crebs, D 147,178 

CONGRE SSMAN- AT-L ARGE . 

John A. Logan, E 203,045 

T. Lyle Dickey 147,455 

Members of Congress — First District. 

Norman B. Judd, E 15.247 

M. E. M. Wallace 6,667 

Second District. 

John F. Farnsworth, E 16,185 

E. M. Haines 3,346 

Third District. 

Elihu B. Washburne, E 14,657 

Thomas J. Turner 3,897 

Fourth District. 

A. C. Harding, E 15,952 

John S. Thompson, D 13,391 

Fifth District. 

B. C. IngersoU, E 18,437 

Silas Eamsey, D 9,665 

Sixth District. 

B. C. Cook, E 15,015 

S. W. Harris, D 7,721 

Seventh District. 

H. P. H. Bromwell, E 17,410 

Charles Black 13,272 



200 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Eighth Distkict. 

Shelby M. Cullom, K 18,623 

Edwin S. Fowler 14,520 

Ninth District. 

Charles E. Lippincott, E 14,721 

Lewis W. Ross, D 15,496 

Tenth District. 

Henry Case, R 14,743 

A. G. Burr, D 17,116 

Eleventh District. 

Edward Kitchell, R 14,379 

Samuel S. Marshall, D 16,668 

Twelfth District. 

Jehu Baker, R 13,032 

Wm. R. Morrison, D 11,956 

Thirteenth District. 

G. B. Raum, R 13,459 

Wm. J. Allen, D. 12,890 



CHAPTER XXII. 
STATE GOVERNMENT- 1867. 



Governor — R. J. Oglesby. 

Lieutenant-Governor — William Bross. 

Secretary of State — Sharon Tyndale. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — 0. H. Miner. 

Treasurer — Geo. W. Smith. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Attorney-General — Robert G. IngersoU. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



201 



Twenty-fifth General Assembly. 

The Twenty-fifth General Assembly convened January 7, 
and consisted of the following members: 



Senate. 



Daniel W. Munn, Cairo. 
John W. Wescott, Xenia. 
Dau'l Eeily, Kaskaskia. 
David K. Green, Salem. 
A.W. Metcalf, Edwardsyille. 
Wm. Shepherd, Jerseyville. 
J. M. Woodson, Carlinville. 
A. J. Hunter, Paris. 
J. L. Tincher, Danville. 
W. H. Cheney, Cheney's Gr. 
John B. Cohrs, Pekin. 
M. McConnel, Jacksonville. 
S. E. Chittenden, Mendon. 



Jas. Strain, Monmouth. 
T. A. Boyd, Lewiston. 
G. L. Fort, Lacon. 
W. Bushnell, Ottawa. 
A. W. Mack, Kankakee. 
Wm. Patton, Sandwich. 
D. J. Pinckney, Mt. Morris. 
A. Webster, Koek Island. 
J. H. Addams, Cedarville. 
A. C. Fuller, Belvidere. 
F. A. Eastman, Chicago. 
J. D. Ward, Chicago. 



House of Bepresentatives. 



N. E. Casey, Mound City. 
P. G. Clemens, New Liberty. 
Jas. Macklin, Harrisburg. 
J. M. Sharp, Mt. Carmel. 
N. Johnson, Mt. Vernon. 
Hugh Gregg, Marion. 
Dan'l Hay, Nashville. 
W.K. Murphy, Pinckneyville. 
J. Campbell, Steel's Mills. 
E. N. Bates, Centralia. 
E. P. Hanna, Fairfield, 

D. W. Odell, Oblong. 
Eli Bowyer, Olney. 
Geo. W. Cornwell, Mason. 
Patrick Dolan, Enfield. 

A. B. Pope, East St. Louis. 
A. Thompson, Belleville. 
John H. Yager, Alton. 
J. F. Alexander, Greenville. 

E. Harlan, Marshall. 
Chas. Voris, Windsor. 

J. B. Eicks, Taylorville. 
J. C. Conkling, Springfield. 
Wm. McGalliard, Lincoln. 



Wm. C. Shirley, Staunton. 

E. M. Knapp, Jerseyville. 
H. C. Withers, Carrollton. 
J. H. Dennis, Chambersburg. 
T. Hollowbush, Naples. 
Jas. M. Epler, Virginia. 
John M. Beesley, Bath. 

F. G. Farrell, Jacksonville. 
H. L. Warren, Quincy. 

P. J. Corkins, Fairweather. 
A. Hanson, Bushnell. 
Geo. W. Metz, Eushville. 
J. G.Fonda, Fountain Green. 
Dan'l W. Sedwick, Suez. 
F. M. Bruner, Monmouth. 
John Gray, Wataga. 
Caleb B. Cox, Vermont. 
Geo. W. Fox, Ellisville. 
Thos. C. Moore, Peoria. 
S. F. Ottman, Wyoming. 
Wm. W. Sellers, Pekin. 
Wm. M. Smith, Lexington. 
H. S. Green, Clinton. 
Jas. M. True, Mattoon. 



202 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Maiden Jones, Tuscola. S. A. Hurlbut, Belvidere. 

N. B. Stage, Bloomtield, K. Hampton, E. Paw Paw. 

Clark R. Griggs, Urbana. Jas. W. Eddy, Batavia. 

A. B. Bunn, Decatur. Wm. P. Pierce, Lisbon. 

Dan'l S. Parker, Kankakee. E. B. Payne, Waukegan. 

Geo. E. King, Watseka. T. B. Wakeman, Harvard. 

Phil. Collins, Morris. A. I. Enoch, Rockford. 

R. Clow, East Wheatland. Jos. M. Bailey, Freeport. 

Wm. Strawn, Odell. Elijah Funk, Mt. Carroll. 

E. Baldwin, Farm Ridge. Henry Green, Elizabeth. 

F. Corwin, LaSalle. Henry C. Childs, Wheaton. 
Wm. C. Stacey, Princeton. Lester L. Bond, Chicago. 
R. T. Cassell, Metamora. Jos. S. Reynolds, Chicago. 
A. P. Webber, Henry. H. M. Singer, Chicago. 
Aug. Allen, Geneseo. M. W. Leavitt, Chicago. 
A. S. Coe, Port Byron. H. M. Shepherd, Chicago. 
Jas. Dinsmoor, Sterling. A. F. Stevenson, Chicago. 

G. Ryon, Paw Paw Grove. E. S. Taylor, Evanston. 
T. J. Hewitt, Foreston. 

Lieutenant-Governor Bross presided over the Senate, 
and Chauncey EUwood, of DeKalb, was elected Secretary, 
over J. R. Flynn, of Macoupin, by a vote of 17 to 7. 

Franklin Corwin, of LaSalle, was elected Speaker of the 
House, over Newton R. Casey, of Pulaski, by a vote of 
58 to 24. Stephen G. Paddock, of Bureau, was elected 
Clerk, over M. B. Friend, of Cass, by a vote of 58 to 24. 

Among the new members of this Assembly who were 
able and active were: Munn, Boyd, Fort, Casey, Bates, 
Hanna, Bowyer, Conkling, Knapp, Hurlbut. 

The Governor's message was presented to the Assembly 
on the 7th. It was an able and somewhat lengthy state 
paper, in which was a careful and practical discussion of all 
the State interests. During the two years ending December 
1, 1866, the State debt had been reduced $2,607,958.46. 
The experimental school for idiots, under the direction of 
Dr. C. T. Wilbur, which was authorized by the previous 
General Assembly, having proved successful, he recom- 
mended additional appropriations in that behalf, as also 
for the Soldiers' Orphans' Home ; recommended an appro- 
priation for a monument to the memory of Abraham 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 203 

Lincoln; renewed his recommendation in favor of an In- 
dustrial College; supported an appropriation in favor of 
having IIHnois properly represented at the Universal Expo- 
sition of the Industry of all Nations, at Paris; favored 
the establishment of a house for the correction of juvenile 
offenders ; recommended a reform in the pardoning power ; 
called attention to the necessity of calling a convention 
to revise the Constitution. 

The two houses met in joint session, January 15, and 
re-elected Lyman Trumbull United States Senator, over 
T. Lyle Dickey, by a vote of 76 to 83. 

This body was in session fifty-two days. Acts were 
passed to provide for the erection of a new State House ; 
to locate, construct and carry on the Southern Illinois 
Penitentiary ; to aid the Illinois Soldiers' College ; to de- 
clare the Normal University, at Normal, a State institu- 
tion; to remove the remains of Gov. Wm. H. Bissell to 
Oak Eidge cemetery, and to erect a monument over the 
same; to establish a Reform School for Juvenile Offend- 
ers; to create the office of Attorney- General ; to establish 
a State Board of Equalization of Assessments ; to locate 
the Industrial University ; to provide for reducing the rate 
of State taxation for payment of interest on the public 
debt ; to regulate warehousemen, and authorize connections 
of railroads with warehouses, and the 14th amendment to 
the National Constitution was ratified. 

Under the law creating the office, Eobert G. Ingersoll 
was appointed Attorney-General. 

Special Session. 

Gov. Oglesby convened the General Assembly in special 
session, June 11, to provide, among other things, for the 
passage of a law for the assessment and collection of taxes 
on the shares of capital stock in banks and banking asso- 
ciations, and to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate 



204 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the Mississippi Kiver and Wisconsin State Line Eailroad 
Company," approved February 28, 1867. 

A second special session was convened, June 14, to pro- 
vide for the management of the llhnois State Penitentiary 
at Joliet. The lessee of the penitentiary, without warning, 
had surrendered the lease to the Governor, and hence 
this special session. The law passed at this session laid 
the foundation for the present admirable system of peni- 
tentiary government. 



CH/VPTER XXIII. 

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1868. 



Agerresrate Vote for State Officers— Aggregate Vote for Members of Con- 
gress—Aggregate Vote for Presidential Electors. 



The year 1868 brought the people together in another 
National struggle for the election of a President and Vice- 
President, and again the State was made to resound with 
the thunder of party tactics. The Republican State Con- 
vention met at Peoria May 6, to nominate a State ticket 
and appoint delegates to the National Convention. John 
M. Palmer was nominated for Governor; John Dough- 
erty, for Lieutenant-Governor ; Edward Eummel, for Sec- 
retary of State; Charles E. Lippiucott, for Auditor; 
Erastus N. Bates, for Treasurer; Washington Bushnell, 
for Attorney-General, and John A. Logan for Congress- 
man-at-Large. The Democrats met May 7, at the same 
place for the same purpose. John R. Eden was nomina- 
ted for Governor ; William H. Van Epps, for Lioutenant- 
Govemor; Gustav Van Horbeke, for Secretary of State; 
John R. Shannon, for Auditor; Jesse J. Phillips, for 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 206 

Treasurer; Eobert E. Williams, for Attorney-General, and 
William W. O'Brien for Congressman-at-Large. 

U. S. Grant, of Illinois, and Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, 
were nominated at Chicago May 20, by the Republican 
National Convention, for President and Vice-President. The 
Democratic National Convention met at New York July 4, 
and nominated Horatio Seymour, of New York, and Francis 
P. Blair, of Missouri, for President and Yice-President. 

State issues were completely absorbed in the discussion 
of National questions growing out of the war, and the best 
talent of both parties was brought actively into the cam- 
paign, and every county and district vigorously canvassed, 
and for many months the voice of the political orator was 
heard in the remotest portions of the State. The Republi- 
cans, however, were victorious in the State and Nation. 
Of the fourteen Congressmen elected, eleven were Repub- 
lican, and both branches of the Legislature were Repub- 
lican. 

The aggregate vote for State ofl&cers, Congressman-at- 
Large, Congressmen, by districts, and Presidential electors, 
is as follows : 

Governor. 

John M. Palmer, R 249,912 

John R. Eden, D 199,813 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John Dougherty, R 249,874 

Wm. H. Van Epps, D 199,860 

Secretary of State. 

Edward Rummel, R 249,952 

Gustav Van Horbeke, D 199,485 

Auditor. 

Charles E. Lippincott, R 249,654 

John R. Shannon, D 199,754 

Treasurer. 

Erastus N. Bates, R 249,972 

Jesse J. Phillips, D 199,859 



206 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Attokney-Genbral. 

Wash. Bushnell, R 249,087 

Eobert E. Williams, D 199,895 

Congressman-at-Large. 

John A. Logan, E 249.422 

William W. O'Brien, D 199,789 

Members of Congress — ^First District. 

Norman B. Judd, R 27,414 

M. R. M. Wallace, D 19,233 

Second District. 

John F. Farnsworth, R 20,725 

A. M. Herrington, D 6,307 

Third District. 

E. B. Washburne, R 18,584 

W. J. McKim, D 9,612 

Fourth District. 

John B. Hawley, R 17,269 

James W. Singleton, D 15,547 

Fifth District. 

Ebon C. Ingersoll, R 20,991 

John N. Niglas, D 13,686 

Sixth District. 

Burton C. Cook, R 19,607 

Oliver C. Gray, D 11,946 

Seventh District. 

Jesse H. Moore, R 22,821 

Thomas Brewer, D 17,171 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



207 



Eighth Distkict. 

Shelby M. Cullom, E 22,193 

B. S. Edwards, D 19,309 

Ninth District. 

Leonard F. Ross, R. . . .• 15,279 

Thompson W. McNeely, D 17,877 

Tenth District. 

Jonathan B. Turner, R 17,397 

Albert G. Burr ,D 21,420 

Eleventh District. 

James S. Martin, R 16,642 

Samuel S. Marshall, D 20,475 

Twelfth District. 

John B. Hay, R 14,980 

Wm. H. Snyder, D 13,338 

Thirteenth District. 

Green B. Raum, R 14,261 

John M. Crebs, D 14,764 



Electors — Seymour. 

John A. McClernand ") 

David A. Gage | 

Silas L. Bryan 

E. F. Colby 

Richard Bishop 

Edward F. Diitcher. 

Delos P. Phelps 

John T. Lindsay . *iqq uq 

Perry A^ Armstrong. [ • • ^^-^'^^^ 

Charles Black 

James S. Ewing 

Simeon P. Shope 

George N. HoUiday 

William B. Anderson 

Edward M. West 

Charles Burnett 



208 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Electors— Grant. 



Gustavus Koerner 

Thomas J. Henderson. 
Stephen A. Hurlbut. . . 

Lorenz Brentano 

Jesse S, Hildrup 

James McCoy 

Henry W. Draper 

Thomas G. Frost 

Joseph 0. Glover 

John W. Blackburn . . . 

Samuel C, Parks 

Damon G. Tunnicliff. 

John D. Strong 

Edward Kitchell 

Charles F. Springer. . 
Daniel W. Munn 



250,293 



* The records in the office of the Secretary of State show only these figures, 
and it is presumed that they represent the highest number of votes cast for 
the respective electoral tickets. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
STATE GOVERNMENT- 1869 



Governor — John M. Palmer. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John Dougherty. 

Secretary of State — Edward Rummel. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Chas. E. Lippincott. 

Treasurer— Erastus N. Bates. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Attorney-General — Washington Bushnell. 

Twenty- SIXTH General Assembly. 

The Twenty-sixth General Assembly convened January 
4, and consisted of the following members: 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



209 



Senate. 



Dan'l W. Munn, Cairo. 
J. J. K. Turney, Fairfield. 
S. K. Casey, Mt. Vernon. 
J. P. VanDorstan, Vandalia. 
W. C. Flagg, Moro. 
W. Shepherd, Jerseyville. 
J. M. Woodson, Carlinville. 
Edwin Harlan, Marshall. 
J. L. Tincher, Danville. 
J. McNulta, Bloomington. 
A. B. Nicholson, Lincoln. 
J. M. Epler, Virginia. 
S. E. Chittenden, Mendon. 



I. McManus, Keithsburg. 
T. A. Boyd, Lewiston. 
G. L. Fort, Lacon. 
J. W. Strevell, Pontiac. 
Henry Snapp, Joliet, 
Wm. Patton, Sandwich. 
D. J. Pinckney, Mt. Morris. 
A. Crawford, Geneseo. 
J. H. Addams, Cedarville. 
A. C. Fuller, Belvidere. 
John C. Dore, Chicago. 
J. D. Ward, Chicago. 



House of Eepresentatives. 



N. E. Casey, Mound City. 
J. C. WiUis, Metropolis. 
C. Burnett, Shawneetown. 
1), H. Morgan, Eussellville. 

C. C. M. V. B. Payne, Benton. 
E. L. Dennison, Marion. 
Geo. Gundlach, Carlyle. 

J. M. McCutcheon, Sparta. 
T. H. Burgess, DuQuoin. 
T. E. Merritt, Salem. 
John Halley, Lovilla, 
J. Cooper, Willow Hill. 
A. W. Bothwell, Clay City. 
Jjeonard Eush, Vandalia. 
John Landrigan, Albion. 
J. E. Miller,' Caseyville. 

A. Eoss, Mascoutah. 

D. Kerr, Edwardsville. 

S. H. Challis, Pocahontas. 
L. Brookhart, Majority Poi't. 
Chas. Voris, Windsor. 

E. M. Gilmore, Litchfield. 
John Cook, Springfield. 
Silas Beason, Lincoln. 

B. T. Burke, Carlinville. 
T. B. Fuller, Hardin. 

D. M. Woodson, CarroUton. 



A. Mittower, Milton. 
Henry Dresser, Naples. 
J. G. Phillips, Mound Stat'n. 
E. Laning, Petersburg. 
S. M, Palmer, Jacksonville. 
Thos. Jasper, Quincy, 
J. E. Downing, Camp Point. 
H. Horrabin, Blandinville. 
John Ewing, Littleton. 

A. J. Bradshaw, LaHarpe. 
D. M. Findley, Oquawka. 
J. Porter, Monmouth. 

W. S. Gale, Galesburg. 

T. M. Morse, Middle Grove. 

John W. Eoss, Lewiston. 

B. F. Thompson, Bradford. 
W. E. Phelps, Elmwood. 
J. Merriam,* Hittle. 

S. E, Saltonstalljf Tremont. 
Wm. M. Smith, Lexington. 
J. Swigart, DeWitt. 
G. W. Parker, Charleston. 
J. E. Callaway, Tuscola. 
S. H. Elliott, Paris. 
W. M. Stanley, Sullivan. 
J. W. Scroggs, Champaign. 
J. M. Perry, Kankakee. 



*Seat contested. 

tAdmitted to seat of Merriam. 

—14 



210 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

C. H. Frew, Paxton. Irus Coy, Bristol, 

Geo. Gaylord, Lockport. N. N. Eavlin, Kaneville. 

Phil. Collins, Morris. A. B. Cook, Libertyville, 

Wm. Strawn, Odell. P. W. Dietz, Marengo. 

Franklin Corwin, Peru. E. Sumner, Pecatonica. 

Sam'l Wiley, Earlville. J. M. Bailey, Freeport. 

L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. Adam Nase, Mt. CarrolL 

Cbas. G. Reed, Maiden. H. Green, Elizabeth. 

J. W. Hopkins, Grandville. H. C. Childs, Wheaton. 

P. K. Hanna, Green Eiver. H. B. Miller, Chicago. 

H. F. Sickles, Moline. L. L. Bond, Chicago. 

J. Dinsmoor, Sterling. J. S. Reynolds, Chicago. 

Alonzo Kinyon, Amboy. F. Munson, Chicago. 

0. B. Youngs, Hale. J. C. Knickerbocker, Chicago^ 

C. W. Marsh, DeKalb. Iver Lawson, Chicago. 

E. H. Talbott, Belvidere. E. S. Taylor, Evanston. 

Lieutenant-Governor Dougherty presided over the Sen- 
ate, and Chauncey Ellwood was elected Secretary, over 
James Low, by a vote of 17 to 6. 

Franklin Corwin was elected Speaker of the House, over- 
Newton R. Casey, by a vote of 53 to 23, and James P. Root, 
of Cook, Clerk, over J. Merrick Bash, of Pike, by a vote 
of 56 to 23. 

The message of Ogles by, the retiring Governor, was laid 
before the two houses on the 4th. It was non-political 
and was confined exclusively to the discussion of ques- 
tions relating to the internal affairs of the State. There 
had been four years of unbroken prosperity. From Decem- 
ber 1, 1866 to December 1, 1868, there had been paid on 
the public debt, principal and interest, $2,687,114.01, and 
for the four years commencing December 1, 1864 and end- 
ing December 1, 1868, $4,743,821.44. 

The first year of the administration of Gov. Ogles by 
had been a very laborious one; ten regiments of volun- 
teer soldiers were organized under the last call of the 
President, and when the rebellion closed the Governor's 
time was occupied almost wholly, for many months, in 
giving attention to the details of mustering out of the ser- 
vice the Illinois soldiers. Gov. Oglesby was an eminently 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 211 

popular man. The Legislature being in harmony with 
his views, his recommendations were carried out in the 
greatest measure. The Normal University at Normal 
was declared a State institution ; the Industrial Uni- 
versity at Champaign was created ; the foundation for the 
school for feeble-minded children, at Lincoln, was laid ; the 
Eye and Ear Infirmary at Chicago was fostered ; the 
the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Normal was estab- 
lished; the office of Attorney-General was created; a re- 
form in the management of penitentiaries was instituted ; 
a reform school for juvenile offenders was created, and 
the new State House was begun. 

The two houses met in joint session on the 11th of 
January, when Gov. Palmer took the oath of office and 
delivered a brief inaugural address, ^in which he took 
occasion to urge upon the attention of the General Assem- 
bly the recommendations contained in the message of his 
predecessor. Said he : 

" I am able to say that the whole duty of the Governor, 
to the utmost extent of the requirements of the constitu- 
tion, has been discharged by my predecessor. The com- 
prehensive message communicated to the General Assem- 
bly at the opening of the present session furnishes the 
amplest information of the state of the government, of the 
operation of existing laws, and covers, by wise and judi- 
cious recommendations, almost every subject in regard to 
which legislative action can be necessary or expedient. 
■ "I cannot better discharge my duty to the people than 
by urging upon your attention the information given, and 
the measures recommended, by the experienced and 
patriotic statesman who now retires from the executive 
office which he has filled with such advantage and credit 
to the State." 

This body was in session one hundred and six days — 
a longer period by far than that of any former General 
Assembly. The vital public acts which were passed, and 
received the approval of the Governor, were as follows: 
Acts to secure the endowment fund of the Illinois Ag-ri- 
cultural College ; to encourage agricultural societies ; to erect 



212 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and carry on an asyl«mn for the insane for Northern 
Illinois ; making appropi'iations for the Illinois Industrial 
University; to establish and maintain the Southern Illi- 
nois Normal University ; to appoint a State Agent to col- 
lect war claims against the United States ; to amend an 
act establishing a home for the children of deceased sol- 
diers ; to provide for building a soldiers' monument at the 
National Cemetery near Mound City; to aid the Illi- 
nois Soldiers' College at Fulton ; to amend an act provid- 
ing for the erection of a new State House ; to aid the 
Eye and Ear Infirmary; to appoint a Board of Commis- 
sioners of Public Charities ; to provide for calling a con- 
vention to revise, alter or amend the Constitution of the 
State; to allow convicts in the penitentiary a credit for 
good conduct in the diminution of their term of imprison- 
ment; io prevent cruelty to animals; to facilitate drain- 
age of wet or overflowed lands ; to prevent frauds in elec- 
tions for subscriptions to stock in or for donations in aid 
of auy incorporation ; to prevent frauds upon gas con- 
sumers and gas companies ; to regulate insurance com- 
XDanies ; to punish frauds upon insurance companies ; to 
provide for permanent survey of lands ; to provide for the 
preservation of field notes, maps, and other papers apper- 
taining to land titles in the State ; to prevent prize-fight- 
ing and sparring or boxing exhibitions ; to amend the rail- 
road law ; to regulate the rate for the conveyance of pas- 
sengers and freight by railroads; to protect lives and 
property of persons at railway crossings of the public high- 
ways ; to fence railroads ; to fund and provide for paying 
the railroad debts of counties, townships, cities and towns ; 
to amend the act establishing the State Board of Equali- 
zation ; to amend an act condemning the right of way for 
purposes of public improvement ; to amend the school 
law ; to facilitate the transportation of grain, produce and 
merchandise by railroads ; to protect widows and orphans 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 213 

from the sacrifice of their property by sales upon mort- 
gages and trust deeds, and the XVth amendment to the 
National Constitution was ratified. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1869-70. 



Illinois having outgrown the Constitution of 1848, the 
Convention which had been elected to amend, alter or 
revise the same, met at Springfield on the 13th of Decem- 
ber, 1869, and was composed of the following delegates, 
which are given by districts : 

1st— William J. Allen. 

2d — George W. Brown. 

3d— W. G. Bowman. 

4tli — James M. Sharp. 

5th — William B. Anderson. 

6th — James M. Washburn. 

7th — Harvey P. Buxton. 

8th— J. H. Wilson, George W. Wall. 

9;h— Silas L. Bryan. 

10th— Eobert P. Hanna. 

11th — James C. Allen. 

12th — James P. Eobinson. 

13th — Beverly W. Henry,^ Ferris Forman.^ 

14th— Charles E. McDowell. 

15th — William H. Snyder, William H. Underwood. 

16th— Charles F. Springer, Henry W. Billings.^ 

17th— John Scholfield. 

18th- -George R. Wendling. 

19th— Edward Y. Bice. 

20Lh — Milton Hay, Samuel C. Parks. 

21st — John W. Hankins. 

»Resigaed March 3. ^Vice B. W. Henry. 'Died April 19. 



214 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

22d— Robert A. King, 

23d— James W. English. 

24th— William R. Archer, John Abbott, 

25th — William L. Vande venter. 

26th— 0. H. Wright. 

27th— Henry J. Atkins. 

28th— Orville H. Browning, Onias C. Skinner. 

29th— W. H. Neece. 

30th— Jesse C. Fox. 

31st— David Ellis. 

32d — James S. Poage. 

33d -A. G. Kirkpatrick,4 Henry Tubbs.^ 

34th— Alfred M. Craig. 

35th— Lewis W. Ross, Samuel P. Cummings. 

36th— Henry W. Wells, Miles A. Fuller. 

37th — Jonathan Merriam. 

38th— Reuben M. Benjamin, Chfton H. Moore. 

39th— John L. Tincher, Henry P. H. Bromwell, Richard 

B. Sutherland. 
40th — Charles Emmerson,^ Abel Harwood. 
41st— William H. Patterson/ John P. Gamble.8 
42d — Addison Goodell. 
43d— William C. Goodhue, W. P. Peirce. 
44th— George S. Eidridge, Joseph Hart, Nathaniel J. 

Pillsbury. 
45th— L. D. Whiting, James G. Bayne, Peleg S. Perley. 
46th— George E. Wait. 
47th — Calvin Truesdale. 
48th — James McCoy. 
49th — John Dement. 
50th — Joseph Parker. 

51st— Westel W. Sedgwick, Jesse S. Hildrup. 
52d — Charles Wheaton, Henry Sherrill. 
53d— Elijah M. Haines. 
54th — Lawrence S. Church. 
55th — Robert J. Cross. 
66th— Thomas J. Turner. 
57th— William Cary, David C. Wagner. 
58th— Hiram H. Cody. 

59th— Joseph Medill, John C. Haines, S. Snowden Hayes. 
60th— William F. Coolbaugh, Charles Hitchcock. 
61st — Elliott Anthony, Daniel Cameron. 

«Died March 15. 'Died January 16. 

^rice A. G. Kirkpatrick. ^Vice W. H. Patterson. 

*Died April 16. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 215 

John Dement was elected President pro tempore; Charles 
Hitchcock, President, and John Q. Harmon, Secretary. 

Among the able and active minds of this Convention 
were : William J. Allen, Bowman, Anderson, Wall, Bryan, 
Hanna, James C. Allen, McDowell, Snyder, Underwood, 
Billings, Scholfield, Eice, May, Parks, English, Archer, 
Tandeventer, Browning, Skinner, Craig, Boss, Wells, Ben- 
jamin, Eldridge, Pillsbury, Whiting, Wheaton, Hayner, 
Church, Turner, Cody, Medill, Dement, Coolbaugh, E. M. 
Haines and Hitchcock. 

The Constitution framed by this Convention has been in 
force full fourteen years, and has been accepted as one of 
the wisest and best organic laws ever framed. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1870. 



The year 1870 was rather a spiritless State campaign; 
neither of the great parties were in a hurry to go into 
the contest; the Eepublicans did not hold their State 
Convention until September 1. Erastus N. Bates was 
nominated for Treasurer; Newton Bateman, for Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction. Both of these gentlemen 
were the incumbents of the offices to which they sought 
a re-election. Under the Constitution of 1848 the Treas- 
urer was not restricted to a single term as now. . 

The Democrats held their Convention September 7 and 
nominated Charles Kidgely for Treasurer, and Charles 
Eeinse for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The aggregate vote for State officers and members of 
Congress is as follows : 



216 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Treasuker. 

Erastus N. Bates, E 168,579 

Charles Kidgely, D 144,923 

H. J. Hammond 3,756 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Newton Bateman, R 166,859 

Charles Feinse, D 144,889 

Daniel Wilkins 3,820 

Members of Congress — First Distrct. 

Charles B. Farwell, R 20,342 

John Wentworth 15,025 

Second District. 

John F. Farnsworth, R 8,396 

J. C. Stoughton, D 6,516 

Richard Bishop 2,349 

Amos Shepard 2 

Third District. 

H. C. Burchard, R 11,718 

Charles Betts 6,219 

W. E. Luckens 12 

Fourth District. 

John B. Hawley, R 12,023 

P. L. Cable, D 11,982 

Fifth District. 

B. N. Stephens, D 11,579 

E. C. Ingersoll, R 9,963 

F. B. Ives 868 

Sixth District. 

Burton C. Cook, R 10,452 

Julius Avery, D 7,839 

Alexander Campbell 159 

Seventh District. 

Jesse H. Moore, R 14,089 

Andrew J. Hunter, D 13,418 



politics and politicians of illinois. 217 

Eighth District. 

James C. Robinson, D 13,702 

Jonathan Merriam, R 12,448 

George VV. Mimer 1,175 

Ninth Distkict. 

Thompson W. McNeely, D 12.693 

B. F. Westlake, R 10,297 

Tenth Disteict. 

Edward Y. Rice, D 13.963 

J. W. Kitchell, R 12,028 

Eleventh District. 

Samuel S. Marshall, D 15,771 

William H. Robinson, R 11,444 

Twelfth District. 

John B. Hay, R 10,903 

William Hartzell, D 10,126 

Thirteenth District. 

John M. Crebs, D 13,949 

Daniel W. Munn, R 12,366 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
FIDELITY OF STATE OFFICERS. 



Canal Scrip Fraud— Letter of Ex-Gov Matte.son to the Committee of Investi- 
gation—Mortgage ot His Property to Secure tlie Payment of $25o,00()— 
Macallister & Stebbins Bonds Fraud— Gov. Bissell's Emphatic Denial of 
any Knowledge of the Fraud. 



It is a matter of congratulation and pride to know that 
Illinois has never lost anything by her State officers. The 
Treasurers of other States have not unfrequently defaulted 



218 POLITICS AND POTilTICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

in large sums of money, but those of Illinois have always 
been faithful to their trusts. 

The nearest the State ever came to losing money of 
any considerable amount, was during the administration 
of Gov. Joel A. Matteson, but the matter was not discov- 
ered until the early part of 1859, two years after he had 
gone out of office. The General Assembly being in session, 
the Senate appointed a committee of investigation, consist- 
ing of S. W. Fuller, B. C. Cook, A. J. KaykendaU, Z. 
Apphngton and S. A. Buckraaster. On February 9, 1859, 
Mr. Matteson addressed the following letter to the com- 
mittee : 

Springfield, III., Feb. 9, 1859. 
To the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee: 

Sir — At the date of my former communication to the 
chairman of the Senate committee, I supposed the validity 
of the bonds issued to me for canal scrip, of the issues 
of May and August, 1839, was supposed to depend upon 
the genuineness of the scrip. Since, to my great surprise, 
the fact is established that these scrip, or checks, though 
genuine, have been redeemed by the officers and agents 
of the State many years since, and have been, by some 
person or persons unknown to me, abstracted from the 
places where they were deposited, and again put in circu- 
lation. With perfect innocence on my part, and without 
the remotest suspicion that the scrip had ever been re- 
deemed, these checks were purchased by me of different 
persons, for their cash value at the time, upon actual 
jpayment of money therefor. 

I have thus unconsciously and innocently been made 
the instrument through whom a gross fraud upon the State 
has been attempted. 

My past relations to the people of this State, and my 
earnest desire for the preservation of my own reputation 
pure and spotless, render me unwilling to retain these 
bonds, although purchased by and issued to me bona fide, 
and for a valuable consideration. I am willing, rather 
than possess one cent that the State of Illinois ought not 
to pay, even though the courts might decide that by the 
strict rules of law my rights to these bonds could not be 
impeached, to sustain myself the whole loss, and to return 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 219 

all the money and evidences of indebtedness of every kind 
I have received of the State on account of these checks 
or any bonds issued for them. 

The bonds are already deposited as security for the cir- 
culation of the State Bank. I will indemnify the State 
against all Mability on these bonds, and provide for the 
repayment of any money or evidences of indebtedness re- 
ceived as aforesaid, by and with any kind of security that 
may reasonably be required therefor. Of course it may 
take some time to replace so large an amount, and I pro- 
pose that upon my giving the security above indicated, 
satisfactory to the proper officer, the bonds remain and 
be held as security for the circulation of the State Bank, 
"with the privilege to me, from time to time, to replace 
them with other securities, and as thus replaced they shall 
be canceled by the Governor. 

The same regard for my reputation (which is of more 
value to me than any amount of money), that, in connec- 
tion with my unwillingness to profit by the loss of the 
State, has prompted the foregoing proposition, also leads 
me to ask, as an act of justice to myself, ihat the investi- 
gation commenced by the committee should be continued. 
I will lend every assistance in my power to render it 
thorough and searching, resulting in the discovery of the 
commencement of tbe wrong, if not the perpetrators. For 
this purpose, I hope, if necessary, the committee will be 
authorized to act in vacation. From my acquaintance 
■with the gentlemen composing the committee, as well as 
from the courtesy already manifested by them to me, I 
doubt not they will be willing to continue the investiga- 
tion even after the adjournment, if necessary. 

J. A. Matteson. 

The investigation continued until 1861, through this and 

other committees acting under authority of the General 

Assembly, and although an elaborate report was finally 

made, the names of the perpetrators of the fraud were 

never revealed. On Becord "F" we find that judgment was 

rendered against Mr. Matteson in the Sangamon Circuit 

Court, October 28, 1862, for $250,000. Agreeably to the 

proposition made in his letter of February 9, 1859, Mr. 

Matteson executed to the State a mortgage on real estate, 

"which included his elegant residence in Springfield, in an 



220 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

amount deemed sufficient to pay the judgment, and by an 
act of the General Assembly approved February 14, 1863, 
Alexander Starne was appointed trustee. The mortgage 
was foreclosed, but the property did not sell for sufficient 
to satisfy the judgment, and subsequently A. B. Saflford, 
of Cairo, turned over to the State, for the benefit of Mr. 
Matteson, lands in Henry county valued at $30,000. We 
are informed by the trustee, Mr. Starne, that the prop- 
erty has all been sold except a few tracts of land in 
Peoria and Henry counties, and some town lots in Joliet 
and LaSalle, worth altogether about $15,000, which, when 
sold, it is believed, will satisfy, in full, the principal of 
the judgment, if not the interest. 

Whatever may have been the real facts in regard to 
this fraudulent proceeding, so far as Gov. Matteson him- 
self is concerned, considering his previous high character 
and the exalted position he had held at the hands of the 
people of his State, the charitable reader will give the 
statement in his letter relating to his personal connection 
with the fraud the consideration it is entitled to. 

In 1859, there was a similar attempt to defraud the State 
out of a large sum of money, through what is known as 
the Macallister & Stebbins bonds, but it was unsuccessful. 
An effort was made to fasten its responsibility upon the 
administration of Gov. Bissell, but he was prompt to deny 
all knowledge of it in terms that had no doubtful mean- 
ing, and which carried with them a behef of his entire 
innocence. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 221 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1871. 



Governor — John M. Palmer. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John Dougherty. 

Secretary of State — Edward Eummel. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Chas. E. Lippincott. 

Treasurer — Erastus N. Bates. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Attorney- General — Washington Bushnell. 

Twenty-seventh General Assembly — First Session. 

The first session of the Twenty-seventh General Assem- 
bly convened January 4, and adjourned, April 17, until 
November 15. The assembly was composed of the follow- 
ing members : 

Senate. 

Simeon K. Gibson,^ Equality. Charles Voris, Windsor. 
T. A. E. Holcomb, S. Pass. Edwin Harlan, Marshall. 
Wm. G. Bowman.2 Piobert N. Bishop, Paris. 

J. Jackson, Lawrenceville. John L. Tincher, Danville. 
John Landrigan, Albion. J. W. Langley, Champaign. 

S. K. Casey, ^ Mt. Vernon. J, McNulta, Bloomington. 
J. M. Washburn, Fredonia, M. Donahue, Clinton. 
W. B. Anderson,^ Mt. Vernon A, B. Nicholson, Lincoln. 
J. P. VanDorstan, Vandalia. Alex. Starne, Springfield. 
J. F. Alexander, Greenville. J. M. Epler, Jacksouville. 
Willard C. Flagg, Moro. Edward Laning, Petersburg. 

W. H. Underwood, Belleville. J. H. Richardson, Qaincy. 
Wm. Shepard,* Jerseyville. Jesse C. Williams, Carthage. 
J. M. Bush, Pittsfield. Benj. R. Hampton, Macomb. 

Wm. H. Allen. ^ Harvey S. Senter, Aledo, 

L. Solomon, Vancil's Point. T. A. Boyd, Lewiston. 

'Died. ^Resigned. 

iViee Simeon K. Gibson, deceased. ^Vice Wm. Shepard, resigned. 

^Vice Samuel K. Casey, deceased. 



222 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Henry J. Vaughn, Victoria. 
Mark Bangs, Lacon. 
Lucien H. KerK, Peoria. 
Jason W. Strevell, Pontiac. 
Wm. Pieddick, Ottawa. 
Henry Snapp,^ Joliet. 
AVm. P. Pierce, Minooka. 
John F. Daggatt.*^ 
Chas. W. Marsh, Sycamore. 
James W. Eddy, Batavia. 
James K. Edsall, Dixon. 
W. S. Wilkinson, Morrison. 



A. Crawford, Geneseo. 
L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 
W. A. Little,! Elizabeth. 
J. M. Hunter, Mt. Carroll. 
Allen C. Fuller, Belvidere. 
John Early, Eockford. 
John C. Dore, Chicago. 
John N. Jewett, Chicago. 
Willard Woodard, Chicago. 
J. L. Beveridge,- Evanston. 
Artemus Carter,'^ Chicago. 



House of Eepresentatives. 



H. Watson Webb, Caii»o. 
Wm. E. Brown, Metropolis. 
Geo. W. Waters, Glendale. 
J. B. Morray, Eeynoldsburg. 
Wm. C. Eich, South Pass. 
Wm. Schwartz,^ Elkville. 
W. A. Lemma,^ Carbondale. 
Addison Eeese, Jr., Marion. 
Wm. Elder, Eldorado. 
W' m. N. Ayres, Elizahetht'wn 
Frank E. Hay, Carmi. 
Calvin Allen, McLeansboro. 
W. W. Barr, Benton. 
Wm. E. Gass, DuQuoin. 
James E. Ealls, Chester. 
D. E. McMasters, Sparta. 
Wm. E. Morrison, Waterloo. 
J. E. Miller, Caseyville. 
G. Koerner, Belleville. 
J. Hinchcliffe, Belleville. 
A. S. Eowley, Eichview. 
Thos. S. Casey, Mt. Vernon. 
A. T. Galbraith, Johnsonville 
Walter L. Mayo, Albion. 
J. D. Sage, Lawrenceville. 
Israel A. Powell, Olney. 
Osman Pixiey, Ingraham. 
Thos. E. Merritt, Salem. 
Sam'l L. Dwight, Centralia. 



Sam'l Burnside, Carlyle. 

D. B. Gillham, Alton. 

A. F. Eodgers, Upper Alton. 
Theo. Miller, St. Jacob. 
William Brown, Old Eipley. 
Jacob Fouke, Vandalia. 
David Leith^ Mason. 

B. F. Kagay, EfKugham. 
Wm. McElwee, Greenup. 
Wm. C. Jones, Eobinson. 
Wm. T. Briscoe, Westfield. 
Edward Barrett, Neoga. 
John Casey, Moweaqua. 

E. Eoessler, Shelbyville. 
W. B. Hundley, Taylorville. 
Thomas Finley,! Pana. 

B. Dornblaser, Assumption. 
James M. Berry, Irving. 
J. N. McElvain, Litchheld. 
J. N. McMillan, Carlinville. 
G. A. W. Cloud, Girard. 
G. W\ Herdman, Jerseyville. 
Eobert A. King, Jerseyville. 
Thos. H. Boyd, Carrollton. 
Charles Kenny, Griggs ville. 
Albert Landrum, El Dara. 
Jas. M. Eiggs, Winchester. 
Newton Cloud, Waverly. 
W. H. Barnes, Jacksonville. 



'Died. 'Vice Schwartz, resigned. *Vice Henry Snapp, resigned. 

-Resigned. 'Ftce John L. Beveridge, resigned. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



223 



Chas. H. Eice, Springfield. 
W. M. Springer, Springfield. 
N. K. Taylor, Williams villa. 
Wm. E. Nelson, Decatur. 
Wm. T. Moffitt, Decatur. 
Jonathan Meeker, Sullivan. 
J, K. Cuningbam, Charleston. 
Azariah Jeflfries, Mattoon. 
James Gaines, Eidge Farm. 
Geo. W. Eives, Paris. 
John Gofer, Areola. 
John C. Short, Danville. 
W. P. Chandler, Danville. 
E. C. Wright, Homer. 
J. C. Sheldon, Urbana. 
A. L. Eodgers, Cerro Gordo. 
Wm. E. Carle, Wapella. 
Peter J. Hawes, Atlanta. 
Augustus Eeise, Atlanta. 
Wm. W. Easley, Virginia. 
S. C. Knoles, Petersburg. 
J. G. Philhps, Mt. Sterling. 
S. S. Benson, Huntsville. 
A. H. Trimble, Marceline. 
Maurice Kelly, Liberty. 
J. H. Stewart, Quincy. 
G. J, Eichardson, Quincy. 
L. Mussetter, Warsaw. 
M. M. Morrill, Nauvoo. 
Wm. H. Neece, Macomb. 
James Manley, Macomb. 
John W. Eoss, Lewiston. 
S. P. Cummings, Astoria. 
T. M. Morse, Middle Grove. 
M. Langston, Manito. 
C. A. Eoberts, Peldn. 
Ira B. Hall, Delavan. 
W. M. Smith, Lexington. 
E, E. Eoe,^ Bloomington. 
W. C. Watkins, Bloomington. 
Geo. W. Funk, McLean. 
L. H. Kerrick,^ Bloomington. 
Addison Goodell, Loda. 
Thos. Vennum, Watseka. 
John Stillwell, Chatsworth. 



Jas. G. Strong, Dwight. 
A. L. Cavan, El Paso. 
James M. Eice, Peoria. 
Samuel Caldwell, Peoria. 
John S. Lee, Peoria. 
Oscar F. Price, Galesburg. 
Jos. F. Latimer, Abingdon. 
P. H. Sanford, Knoxville. 
S. T. Shelton, Monmouth. 
J. T. Morgan, Monmou:li. 
W. A. M. Crouch, Eozetta. 
S. F. Fleharty, Swedonia. 
John Morris, Eock Island. 
E. H. Johnston, Port Byron. 
Levi North, Kewanee. 
Jonas W. Olson, Galva. 
Miles A. Fuller, Toulon. 
Joseph H. Jones, Henry. 
Joseph Eeinhardt, Granville. 
Eobert Hunter, Tiskilwa. 
P. F. Eemsberg, Limerick. 
G. W. Armstrong, Seneca. 
Benj. Edgecomb, Utica. 
James Clark, Utica. 
H. M. Gallagher, Peru. 
Phillip Collins, Morris. 
W. E. Hickox, Kankakee. 
Calvin H. Frew, Paxton. 
J. H. Daniels, Wilmington. 
W. S. Brooks, Joliet. 
Eobert Clow, E.Wheatland. 
Henry Sherrill, Lisbon. 
W. M. Whitney, Hinsdale. 
Anson S. Clark, Elgin. 
J. A. Carpenter,Carpenterv'e. 
Wm. H. Miller, Aurora. 
E. M. Pritchard, Shabbona. 
L. M. McEwen, DeKalb. 
N. H. Eyan, Amboy. 
M. J. Braiden, Eochelle. 
M. W. Smith, Oregon. 
Jeremiah Davis, Beacon. 
Nathan Wilhams, Sterling. 
Dean S. Efner, Albany. 
James Shaw, Mt. Carroll. 



' Resigned. 



* Vice E. R. Roe, resigned. 



224 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

William Gary, Galena. John D. Easter, Chicago. 

H. S. Townsend, Warren. John Humphrey, Orland. 
Thos. J, Turner, Freeport. A. L. MaiTison, Chicago. 
Wm. Massenberg, Freeport. John W. Heatield, Chicago. 
Jas. M. Wight, Koekford. A. J. Galloway, Chicago. 

D, Emmons Adams, Laona. H. B. Brayton, Chicago. 
Jesse S. Hildrup, Belvidere. Simon D. Phelps, Chicago. 
W. A. McConnell, Richmond. James P. Root, Chicago. 
Ira R. Curtis, Marengo. Wm. H. King, Chicago. 
W. B. Dodge, Waukegan. Arthur Dixon, Chicago. 

E. M. Haines, Waukegan. Horace F. Waite, Chicago. 
Henry W. Austin, Chicago. R. S. Williamson, Chicago. 
Robert H. Foss, Chicago. A. H. Burley, Chicago. 
Jas. L. Campbell, Chicago. William Vocke, Chicago. 
Carlisle Mason, Chicago. W. K. Sullivan, Chicago. 
Wiley M. Egan, Chicago. Henry C. Senne, DesPlains. 
R. P. Derrickson, Chicago. 

This was the largest assembly of Senators and Repre- 
sentatives that ever convened in the State for the purpose 
of enacting laws. There were fifty Senators and one 
hundred and seventy-seven Representatives. The Consti- 
tution of 1870 had provided for this representation. 

Lieutenant-Gov. Dougherty presided over the Senate, 
and E. H. Griggs was elected Secretary, over J. M. 
Davidson, by a vote of 32 to 18. 

William M. Smith, of McLean, was elected Speaker of 
the House, over William R. Morrison, of Monroe, by a 
vote 101 to 75, and Daniel Shepard, of Cook, Clerk, 
over E. L. Merritt, of Sangamon, by a vote of 101 to 75. 

The Governor's message was laid before the two houses 
on the 6lh. It was an elaborate and able State paper, 
and gave attention to every question of public importance 
which claimed the consideration of the Legislature, but 
he discussed at length the legislation necessary to bring 
into full force and effect the new Constitution. 

The labors of this body were, indeed, arduous. The 
time was chiefly devoted to the enactment of laws to 
conform to the new Constitution. 



politics and politicians of illinois. 225 

First Special Session. 

Having adjourned without making the needed appropri- 
ations for carrying on the State Government and contin- 
uing the work on the State House, the Governor convened 
the General Assembly in special session on the 24th of 
May, and after discharging the duties for wliich the body 
met, a final adjournment was taken June 22. 

Second Special Session. 

On the 8th of October, 1871, a tire broke out in Chi- 
cago, which laid that city in ashes and rendered thousands 
of its citizens helpless and homeless, and the cry for help, 
immediate help, went forth broadcast throughout the land. 
Two days after. Governor Palmer issued his proclamation 
convening the Legislature in special session on the 13th 
of October. This was a great emergency, and the Gov- 
ernor met it boldly. He notified all the members through 
the medium of the telegraph, and within three days after 
the proclamation they were in their seats and ready for 
business. 

The Constitution of 1870 had forbidden all special legis- 
lation, and there were grave doubts in the minds of many 
members as to the power of the Legislature to pass, con- 
stitutionally, effective laws for the relief of the city, but the 
Governor issued a stirring message, and clearly pointed out 
the way. In 1865, the Legislature had passed an act pro- 
viding for the completion of the Illinois and Michigan 
Canal upon the plan adopted by the State in 1836, and 
entrusted the work to the city of Chicago, under certain 
conditions, restricting, however, the expenditure to $2,- 
500,000, which was, ultimately, to be paid, principal and 
interest, by the State. In this work Chicago had ex- 
pended the amount limited by the act of 1865, and at this 
session the General Assembly appropriated a sum sufficient 
—15 



226 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

to pay the principal and interest, which amounted, in 
round numbers, to $3,000,000, on the payment of which the 
canal was surrendered to the management of the State. 

Adjourned Session. 

The regular adjourned session of this assembly convened 
November 15, 1871, to resume the labor of enacting laws 
to conform with the new Constitution, and continued in 
session until April 9, 1872, when a sine die adjournment 
was taken. 

This body was in regular session 250 days, and in special 
sessions 42 days, making a total of 292, and passed laws 
covering a volume of 781 pages, in which was included 
almost every subject of legislation contemplated in the new 
Constitution. The duties of this body were, perhaps, more 
burdensome and difficult than those of any legislature 
which has ever assembled in the State, but they were 
performed with fidelity and consummate ability. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
STATE CAMPAIGN-1872, 



Formation of the Liberal Republican Party— Great Defection in the Repub- 
lican Party— Yates' Cabinet Deserts the Republican Party— Yates Stands 
by the '"Silent Soldier"— Lippincott True to the Republican Party- 
Dissolution of the New Party— No Democratic Tickets— State Campaiern 
—Aggregate Vote for State Offlcers, Members of Congress and Presi- 
dential Electors. 



In 1870, Horace Greeley, through his paper, the New 
York Tribune, strenuously advocated a more lenient policy 
on the part of the National Administration toward the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 227 

States which had lately been in rebellion. The Republi- 
can party, then in power in Missouri, divided on the 
question of removing from the Constitution of that State 
the clause which disfranchised rebels. Carl Schurz and 
B. Gratz Brown led the faction favoring the abrogation 
of that clause, which assumed the name of Liberal Re- 
publicans. Mr. Greeley had really prepared the way for 
the formation of such a party, and now that Missouri had 
taken the initiatory step, it was not long before the new 
party gained followers in all the Northern States ; and in 
1872, a National convention assembled at Cincinnati, May 
1, under its auspices, and nominated Horace Greeley for 
President, and B. Gratz Brown for Vice-President. 

The defection in the Republican party in Illinois was 
very general, and it looked at the outset as though the 
new organization would carry both the State and National 
elections. The Liberal faction in Illinois was led by such 
eminent men as John M. Palmer, Governor ; Newton Bate- 
man, Superintendent of Public Instruction ; Edward 
Rummel, Secretary of State ; ex-Lieut. -Gov. Francis A. 
Hoffman ; ex-Lieut. -Gov. Wm. Bross ; ex-Lieut.-Gov. Gus- 
tavus Kcerner; ex-Secretary of State, 0. M. Hatch; ex- 
Auditor of Public Accounts, Jesse K. Dubois ; ex- Auditor 
of Public Accounts, 0. H. Miner; ex- Attorney-General, 
Washington Bushnell; ex- State Treasurer, Wm. Butler; 
ex-Congressman from the State-at-Large, S. W. Moulton ; 
ex-Congressman, John Wentworth; ex-U. S. Marshal, D. 
L. Phillips ; ex-U. S. District Attorney, Lawrence Weldon ; 
Judge David Davis, Leonard Swett, Senator Lyman 
Trumbull, and last, though not least, the Chicago Tribune. 
Edward Rummel was nominated by the Liberals for Sec- 
retary of State, and Wm. Bross as one of the electors 
from the State-at-Large, and D. L. Phillips, who was 
then one of the chief owners of the State Journal, as a 
district elector. 



228 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

There were many other prominent Kepublicans, who had 
been honored with places of distinction by the party, who 
joined in this movement, but these names will suffice to 
show that the schism was great and alarming even to the 
most stout-hearted Kepubliean. It will be observed that 
all the State ofi&cers who made up the cabinet when 
Eichard Yates was Governor, joined the fortunes of this 
new party, while Yates himself stood firm as a rock by 
the old party and the "silent soldier" whose first com- 
mission in the war he issued; and Gen. C. E. Lippincott, 
Auditor of Public Accounts, was the only member of the 
then Republican State Government who boldly declared 
himself willing to stand or fall by adhering to the Repub- 
lican party, and he wrote a stirring letter, under date of 
April 24, 1872, to Wm. Murry, of Virginia, Cass county, 
in reply to the question as to the course that should be 
pursued by his old war comrades in the crisis. We give 
place to a brief extract from this letter: 

" I answer briefly, because my time is fully occupied, 
but plainly, that my old comrades may clearly under- 
stand me, that I am for the Republican party and its 
nominees for the Presidency at Philadelphia. I see no 
abuses in the Republican party which it is not fully able 
and willing to correct. The record of that party is the 
proudest part of modern history. Its end cannot have 
approached, when nothing is arrayed against it but a 
threatened assault from a coalition of men of every pos- 
sible political creed and character, held together by the 
single tie of a universal wish to get into the offices of 
the government. I have no criticisms to make upon the 
couri-e of others, and trust that I have made my own 
position clear to you and to those for whom you write." 
(See file Daily State Register, May, 1872.) 

The Republican party met in Philadelphia, June 5th, and 
renominated Gen. Grant for President, without opposition, 
and Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. 

The Democratic party met in National Convention at 
Baltimore, on the 9th of July, and nominated Greeley and 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 229 

Brown. Mr. Greeley having been an early Abolitionist and 
one of the chief founders of the Kepublican party, his 
nomination was not accepted as satisfactory by the enthe 
Democratic party of the country, and a convention of 
what was termed the " Straight-out " Democrats met at 
Louisville, Kentucky, September 3, and nominated Charles 
O'Connor, of New York, for President, and John Q. Adams, 
of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. These nomiuation^ 
were declined. 

The contest in Illmois was waged with great vigor on 
all sides, and many believed that the State would be car- 
ried by the Liberal party, but when the returns of the 
election came in it was shown that Grant and Wilson had 
received 241,944; Greeley and Brown, 184,938; O'Connor 
and Adams, 3,058. Grant's majority over all was 53,948. 

In the United States, Grant and Wilson received, of the 
popular vote, 3,597,070 ; Greeley and Brown, 2,834,079; 
O'Connor and Adams, 29,408; Black, Temperance, 5,003. 
The majority of Grant and Wilson over all was 727,975. 
Of the electoral vote. Grant and Wilson received 286. 
Horace Greeley having died in the meantime, the electoral 
vote of the Liberal party was cast as follows : For Pres- 
ident, T. A. Hendricks, of Indiana, 42; B. Gratz Brown, 
18 ; C. J. Jenkins, of Georgia, 2 ; D. Davis, of Illinois, 1 ; 
For Vice-President, Brown received 47 ; G. W. Julian, of 
Indiana, 5 ; A. H. Colquitt, of Georgia, 5; J. M. Palmer, 
of Illinois, 3; T. E.' Bramlette, of Kentucky, 3; W. S. 
Groesbeck, of Ohio, 1; W. B. Macher, of Kentucky, 1; 
N. P. Banks, of Massachusetts, 1. 

Messrs. Palmer, Koerner, Trumbull and Moulton have 
since affiliated with the Democratic party, while Mr. Davis 
has been an Independent, but all the other gentlemen 
returned to the Kepublican fold before another Presiden- 
tial campaign. 



230 politics and politicians of illinois. 

State Campaign. 

This campaign was of the most momentous charac- 
ter; by it was to be determined whether the RepubHcan 
party, which had guided the State and the Nation in the 
perilous times of war, should be set aside, and a new 
party take its place. For the time being the Democratic 
party did not array itself as a party against the Repub- 
lican party, but united with the Liberal Republican party. 
"Under these circumstances the Republicans did not enter 
the campaign with the brightest hopes of success ; but 
they nominated a strong ticket, and made a bold and 
aggressive light. R. J. Oglesby, who had led the party to 
victory in 1864, was nominated without opposition, for 
Governor; John L. Beveridge, for Lieutenant-Governor; 
George H. Harlow, for Secretary of State; C. E. Lippin- 
cott, for Auditor ; Edward Rutz, for Treasurer, and James 
K. Edsall for Attorney-General. 

The Liberal Republicans nominated Gustavus Kcerner, 
Republican, for Governor; J. C. Black, Democrat, for 
Lieutenant-Governor; Edward Rummel, Republican, and 
the incumbent of the office, for Secretary of State ; Daniel 
O'Harra, Democrat, for Auditor ; C. H. Lanphier, Democrat, 
for Treasurer, and John V. Eustace for Attorney-General. 

The Liberal Republican State ticket was regarded as 
being exceedingly strong; it was believed that the names 
of Koerner and Rummel would insure for it the German 
vote, and that the equal division of the offices between 
Democrats and Republicans would surely give the new 
party a sufficient following to carry the State. The battle 
between the old and the new party was opened with a 
zeal and bitterness that had never before been witnessed, 
but it soon became evident that the nomination of Greeley 
had greatly displeased many of the life-long leaders of 
the Democratic party, who openly opposed the election of 
the Liberal ticket, and either voted for the Republican 
ticket or refrained from voting at all. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 231 

The aggregate vote for State officers, members of Con- 
gress and Presidential electors is as follows: 

GOVERNOB. 

Bichard J. Oglesby, R 237,774 

Oustavus Koerner, L . R 197,084 

B. G. Wright 2,185 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John L. Beveridge 235,101 

J. C. Black 199,767 

D. S. Starr 2,459 

Secretary of State. 

George H. Harlow, R 241,435 

Edward Rummel, L. R 193,493 

E. Sutton 2,372 

Auditor. 

€. E. Lippincott, R 241,498 

D. O'Hara, L. R 192,708 

0. H. Westerman 2,459 

Treasurer. 

Edward Rutz, R 242,686 

C. H. Lanphier, L. R 191,806 

Henry West 2,509 

Attorney-General. 

J. K. Edsall, R 240,731 

John V. Eustace, L. R 191,897 

George A. Meech 2,467 



Members of Congress — First District. 

John B. Rice, D 12,870 

Lucien B. Otis, R 7,235 

Second District. 

Jasper D. Ward, R 12.182 

C. H. Harrison, D 8,873 



232 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Thikd Distkict. 

Charles B. Farwell, R 9,202 

John V. LeMoyne, D 4,962 

Fourth District. 

Stephen A. Hurlbut, R 15,532 

Seymour G. Bronson, D 5,13-i 

Fifth District. 

Horatio C. Burchard, R 14,036 

James Dinsmore, D, , 7,538 

Sixth District. 

John B. Hawley, R 13,123 

Calvin Truesdale, D 7,215 

Seventh District. 

Franklin Corwin, R 12,404 

G. D. A. Parks, D 8,293 

Eighth District. 

Greenbury L. Foot, R 13,401 

George 0. Barnes, D 8,304 

Ninth District. 

Granville Barriere, R 12.600 

N. C. Worthington, D 10,799 

Tenth District. 

William H. Ray, R 12,962 

William H. Neece, D 11,897 

Eleventh District. 

Robert M. Knapp, D 13.818 

Asa C. Mathews, R 10,939 

Twelfth District. 

James C. Robinson, D 18.234 

M. M. Chamberlin, R 12,311 

Thirteenth District. 

John McNulta, R 13,490 

Clifton H. Moore, D 10,850 

L. L. Leads 344 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



233 



Fourteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, R 

William Melson, D 

Fifteenth District. 

John E. Eden, D 

George Hunt, R 



Sixteenth District. 

James 8. Martin, E , 

Silas L. Bryan, D , 



Seventeenth District. 

William E. Morrison, D 

John B. Hay, E 



Eighteenth District. 

Isaac Clements, E 

George W. Wall, D 



Nineteenth District. 

Samuel S. Marshall, D 

Grten B. Eaum, E 



15,161 
11,405 

14,653 
12,298 



12,266 
12,016 



13,215 
11,316 



12,999 
11,478 



13,297 
11,282 



Electors — Grant. 



Henry Greenbaum 

David T. Linegar 

Channcey T. Bowen. . . 

Lester L. Bond 

Mahlon D. Ogden 

Eichard L. Divme 

James Shaw 

Norman H. Ryan 

Irus Coy 

Joseph J. Cassell 

Wilham Seldon Gale... 
Wilham D. Henderson. 

Moses M. Bane 

George A. Sanders .... 

Hugh Fullerton 

Martin B. Thompson. 

Jacob W. Wilkin 

John P. Van Dorstan . , 

John I. Einaker 

John Dougherty 

William H. Eobinson.. 



,241,237 



234 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Greeley. 



William Bross 

John D. Caton 

Thomas Hoyne 

Charles C. P. Holden. 

Arno Voss 

Isaac W. Swaim 

Bobert C. Burchett... 

Eric Johnson 

Caspar Butz 

Stephen R. Moore. . . . 
Martin Shallenberger. 
George Edmunds, Jr. 
William Stein wedell. . 

David L. Phillips 

Samuel C. Parks. . . . 
John Cunningham. . . . 

John N. Gwin 

George L. Zuik 

John Hinchcliffe 

Benjamin W. Sharp. 
Eranklin Pierce 



184,772 



O'Connor. 



Isaac R. Diller 

David Bunion 

Wm. S. Searles 

Abram Braisted 

William Hanley 

Jacob Sharp 

James M. Duncan. . . .. 

John Culbertson 

John W. Hill 

John Moran 

Hezekiah M, Wead. . . . 

Thomas Clawry 

Frank Vromer 

William H. Van Epps 

Samuel L. Kerr 

James W. Davidson... 

Jacob Epler 

William T. French.... 

James B. Smith 

Henry G. Carter 

L. M. De Mntte 



3,138 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 235 



CHAPTER XXX. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1873, 



Governor— John L. Beveridge. 

President of Senate and Acting Lieut. -Gov. — Jno. Early. 

Secretary of State — George H. Harlow, 

Auditor of Public Accounts — C. E. Lippincott. 

Treasurer — Edward Eutz. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Newton Bateman. 

Attorney-General — James K. Edsall. 

Twenty-eighth General Assembly — First Session. 

The first session of the Twenty-eighth General Assem- 
bly convened January 8, and adjourned May 6, until Jan- 
uary 8, 1874. The Assembly was composed of the follow- 
ing members: 

Senate. 

Jos. S. Keynolds, Chicago. Almon S. Palmer, Onarga. 

E. S. Thompson, Chicago. Elmer Baldwin, Farm Ridge. 

Miles Kehoe, Chicago. J as. G. Strong, Dwight. 

Samuel K. Dow, Chicago. L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 

J. McGrath, Chicago. Edward A. Wilcox, Minonk. 

Horace F. Waite, Chicago. W. H. Shepard, Cambridge. 

R. S. Williamson, Chicago. P. H. Sanford, Knoxville. 

Clark W. Upton, Waukegan. Benj. R. Hampton, Macomb. 

John Early, Rockford. Benj. Warren, LaHarpe. 

Henry Green, Elizabeth. S. P. Cummings, Astoria. 

Jos. M. Patterson, Sterling. John S. Lee, Peoria. 

Geo. P. Jacobs, Oregon. A. B. Nicholson, Lincoln. 

Miles B. Castle, Sandwich. John Cusey, Downs. 

Eugene Canfield, Aurora. Michael Donahue, Clinton. 

Wm. S. Brooks, Joliet. J. C. Sheldon, Urbana. 



236 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



John C. Short, Danville. John 
Charles B. Steele, Mattoon. Geo. 
Charles Voris, Windsor. John 

W. B. Hundley, Taylor^^ille. Geo. 
Alex. Starne, Springfield. W. J. 
A. A. Glenn, Mt. Sterling. Thos. 
Geo. W. Barns,! Quincy. F. M 
Maurice Kelly, ^ Liberty. W. K. 
Wm. K. Archer, Pittsfield. John 
Wm. Brown, Jacksonville. Jesse 
Beatty T. Burke, Carhnville. C. M. 



H. Yager, Alton. 
Gundlach, Carlyle. 
Cunningham, Salem. 
W. Henry, Louisville. 
. Crews, Lawrenceville. 

S. Casey, Mt. Vernon. 
. Youngblood, Benton. 
, Murphy, Pinckneyv'le. 
Hinchclilfe, Belleville. 

Ware, Jonesboro. 
Ferrell, Elizabethtown. 



House of Kepkesentatives. 



J as. B. Bradwell, Chicago. 
John A. Lomax, Chicago. 
Wm. Wayman, Chicago. 
S. P. Hopkins, Chicago. 
Frank T. Sherman, Chicago. 
Charles G. Wicker, Chicago. 

E. F. Cnllerton, Chicago. 
Constantino Kann, Chicago. 
Thos, M. Halpin, Chicago. 
John F. S'3anlon, Chicago. 
Thos. E. Ferrier, Chicago. 
Wm. H. Condon, Chicago. 
Wm. A. Herting, Chicago. 
Ingwell Oleson, Chicago. 
Hugh McLaughlin, Chicago. 
Otto Peltzer, Chicago. 
John M. Rountree, Chicago. 
Geo. E. Washburn, Chicago. 
Daniel Booth, Chicago. 

C. H. Dolton, Dolton Stat'n. 
H. C. Seone, DesPlaines. 
Richard Bishop, Mc Henry. 

F. K, Granger, McHenry. 
Elisha Gridley, Half Day. 
Robert J. Cross,^ Roscoe. 
Jesse S. Hildrup, Belvidere. 
Duncan J. Stewart, Durand. 

Richard F. Crawford,^ 

E. L. Cronkrite, Freeport. 
Alfred M. Jones, Warren. 



James S. Taggart, Ridott. 
James Shaw, Mt. Carroll. 
J. E. McPherran, Sterling. 
Dean S. Efner, Albany. 
Isaac Rice, Mt. Morris. 
Henry D. Dement, Dixon. 
Frederick H. Marsh, Oregon. 
Lyman B. Ray, Morris. 
G. M. Hollenback, Milbrook. 
Perry A. Armstrong, Morris. 
Sylvester S. Mann, Elgin. 
J. A. Carpenter, Carp'nt'rsv'le. 
James Herrington, Geneva. 
Amos Savage, Lockport. 
Jno. S. Jessup, Wilmington. 
Jabez Harvey, Joliet. 
M. J. Sheridan, Momence. 
E. B. Collins, Momence. 
Thos. S. Sawyer, Chebanse. 
Lewis Soule, Ottawa. 
Joseph Hart, Earlville. 
Geo. W. Armstrong, Seneca. 
J. P. Middlecoff, Paxton. 
Lucien Bullard, Forrest. 
John Pollock, Paxton. 
J. R. Mulvane, Princeton. 
Cyrus Bocock, Castleton. 
Mark R. Dewey, Ohio. 
Dwight J. Webber, Minonk. 
Nathaniel Moore, Wenona. 



iRe$igned September 2*, 18*8, 
2 Vice George W. Burns. 



^Died. 

*Vice Robert J. Cross, died. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



237 



J. G. Freeman, Snachwine. 
Wilder W. Warner, Orion. 
E. H. Johnson, Pt. Byron. 
Chas. Dunham, Geneseo. 
A. J. Streator, New Windsor. 
Geo. P. Graham, Aledo. 
J. S. Chambers, Altooua. 
Wm. A. Grant, Monmouth. 
J. E. Jackson, Colchester. 

E. K. Westfall, Bushnell. 
Wm. Scott, Dallas City. 
D. Kankin, Biggsville. 
Edward E. Lane, Warsaw. 
S. Y. Thorrnton, Canton. 
John. A. Grey, Lewiston. 

J. M. Daitiell, Pleasantview. 
Julius S. Starr, Peoria. 
Michael C. Quinn, Peoria. 
Ezra G. Webster, Elmore. 
Laban M. Stroud, Atlanta. 
Peter J. Hawes, Atlanta. 
H. W. Snow, Washington. 
A. E. Stewart, Heyworth. 
T. P. Rogers, Bloomington. 
John Cassedy, Lexington. 
Job A. Race, Decatur. 
Tilman Lane, Clinton. 
Wm. T. Moffett, Decatur. 
John Penfield, Rantoul. 
C. P. Davis, Monticello. 

F. E. Bryant, Bement. 
Willis 0. Pinnell, Paris. 
Henri B. Bishop, Paris. 
Jacob H. Oakwood, Catlin. 
Wm. T. Sylvester,! Areola. 
J. A. Freeland, Sullivan. 
J. A. Connolly, Charleston. 
Joseph H. Ewing,2 Areola. 
W. H. McDonald, Majority Pt 
W. H. Blakely, Effingham. 
Benson Wood, Effingham. 

J. M. Truitt, Hillsboro. 



H. P. Shumway, Taylorville. 
E. J. C. Alexander, Hillsboro. 
A. Orendorff, Springtield. 
Milton Hay, Springtield. 
S. M. Cullom, Springtield. 
H. H. Moose, Havana, 
Wm. W. Easley, Virginia. 
N. W. Branson, Petersburg. 
Chas. Baliow, Clayton. 
Nehemiah Bushnell,^ Quincy. 
Ira M. Moore, Quincy. 
J. Tilson,* and^, Quincy. 
Albert J. Griffith.6 
M. D. Massey, Pleasant Vale 
Stephen G. Lewis, Hardin. 
Henry Dresser, Naples. 
J. B. Nulton, Carrollton. 
J. W. Meacham, Waverly. 
J. Gordon, Lynnville. 
Wm McAdams, Jerseyville. 
J. Plowman, Virden. 
A, L. Virden, Virden. 
H. Weinheimer, Highland. 
Beuj. R. Hite, Coilinsville. 
T. T. Ramey, Coilinsville. 
Fred. A. Lietze, Carlyle. 

C. D. Hoiles, Greenville. 
A. G. Henry, Greenville. 
N. B. Morrison, 0<lin. 
Chas. G. Smith, Vandalia. 
Ziba. S. Swan, 5 Vandalia. 
Alfred P. Crosly.' 

I. N. Jaquess, Mt. Carmel. 
R. T. Forth, Keenville. 

D. W. Barkley, Fairfield. 
J. L. Flanders, Olive. 
Thos. J. Golden, Marshall. 
H. Alexander, Robinson. 
L. Walker, McLeansboro. 
R. S. Anderson, M'Leansboro 
Patrick Dolan, Entield. 

J. G. Newton, Marion. 



'Removed. 

*VMe Wm. T. Sylvester, removed. 

"Died. 

*Vice Nehemiah Bushnell, deceased. 



'RfiPiened. 

*Vice John Tillson, resigned. 

^Vice Ziba S. Swan, resigned. 



238 POLITICS AKD POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

J. K. Loomis, Shawneetown. S. M. Kase,^ Belleville. 

S. M. Mitchell, Corinth. W. A. Lemma, Carbondale. 

J. W. Piatt, Cutler. Matthew J. Inscore, Anna. 

Wm. Neville, Chester. John H. Oberly, Cairo. 

Austin James, Mitchie. James L. Wymore, Vienna. 

B. Wick,i Belleville. F. M. McGee, Reynoldsburg. 

L. H. Hite, East St. Louis. N. R. Casey, Mound City. 
John Thomas, Belleville. 

D. A. Bay, of McLean, was elected Secretary of the Sen- 
ate over W. H. Mantz, of Jefferson, by a vote of 33 to 17. 

In the House, Shelby M. Cullom, of Sangamon, was 
elected Speaker, over Newton R. Casey, of Pulaski, by a 
vote of 86 to Q6, and Daniel Shepard, of Cook, Clerk, 
over Johsua L. Marsh, of Cook, by a vote of 86 to 61. 

Gov. Palmer, the outgoing Executive, presented his mes- 
sage to the two houses on the 9th, in which he invited 
attention to the evidences of prosperity in the State, and 
referred with pride and pleasure to the disposition of the 
people to bear, without complaint, the burdens of taxa- 
tion for the education of the masses, and for caring for 
the afflicted and helpless. To the question of State con- 
trol of railroads, he gave careful consideration, and pointed 
out an intelligent and just remedy for the evils of which 
the people complained ; the needs of the State institutions 
and all subjects affecting the immediate welfare of the 
people were discussed with manly candor, and many wise 
and judicious recommendations indulged in. During the 
four years of his administration the principal of the State 
debt had been reduced $4,449,244.44, and the people in 
general were in a happy and prosperous condition. 

The administration of Gov. Palmer was wise and able, 
yet laborious and trying. The office had come to him 
unsought. The Republican party nominated him for Gov- 
ernor in the face of the repeated declarations that he did 
not seek or desire the honor, and he was triumphantly 
elected, and went into power with the hearty approval of 

'Be&igned. *F»<;e Bernard Wick. Eesigned. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 239 

his party, but bis first annual message gave tbe leaders 
of tbat party great offense. He bad been from bis youth 
an outspoken anti-slavery man, yet be was a firm believer 
in State rights, and his message was strongly impregnated 
with that doctrine. This gave great displeasure to the lead- 
ers of tbe Kepublican party. When Chicago was burnt, 
a conflict arose between the State and National Adminis- 
trations as to their respective duties in that great emer- 
gency, Gov. Palmer contending tbat tbe State was able 
to preserve order, and protect the property of its citizens, 
and that the National authority, if exercised at all, was 
to be subordinate to State authority. These emphatic 
declarations brought the Governor in open conflict with 
his party leaders, and before the close of his Administra- 
tion he found himself allied to a new party, the Liberal 
Eepublican ; and in justification of his acts, as Governor, 
in closing his last message, he said : 

"I am not willing to close this communication and my 
official connection with the government, without express- 
ing something of my gratitude to the people for the honor 
conferred upon me with the chief magistracy of the State. 
No one is more conscious than I am, that in the neces- 
sarily active share I have taken in the varied affairs of 
this great commonwealth I have, in the judgment of some, 
committed mistakes ; but I have, in all my official acts, 
been governed by my own convictions of duty, only anx- 
ious that the free people of the State, to whose candid 
judgment alone I am responsible, should fully understand 
my conduct and its reasons and motives, and then decide 
to approve, or relieve themselves from the consequences of 
what they may regard as my mistakes by selecting a 
citizen for my successor who will avoid any error they 
may think I have committed. 

" During my administration of the government of the 
State, I have steadily acted upon political principles that 
I have always cherished as being essential to the well 
being of my countrymen. I have never faltered in the 
assertion of the rights of all men to liberty. Habitually 
distrustful of power, I have insisted upon subjecting all 
claims of a right to govern the people or to exercise any 



240 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

authority over them to the test of the Constitution, and 
I have never willingly submitted to any pretension of any 
person claiming power to act under the authority of the 
government of the United States, unless the power claimed 
was found to have been expressly granted, or was neces- 
sarily implied in some grant of power contained in the 
Federal Constitution. And when the authority sought to 
be exercised has been claimed under a State, I have as 
earnestly sought to know that it was not comprehended 
within some power the people of the State have, by their 
Constitution, reserved to themselves or forbidden to be 
exercised by others. I have, at all times, regarded it as 
amongst my solemn duties to obey the Constitution of the 
United States, and to aid in defending the government 
created by that instrument, in the exercise of all its just 
powers, nor have I felt that my duty to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States originated in my official 
oath to do so. 

" My duties to the government of the United States be- 
gan with my birth, and have never been forgotten nor 
neglected, and my unalterable purpose to discharge those 
duties has the support of my judgment and my affections, 
and 1 have felt under the most solemn of earthly obliga- 
tions to obey and defend and support the Constitution and 
laws of the State of Illinois, and to enforce the laws of 
the State against all who might offend against them. I 
need not say that the duty of obeying and defending the 
laws of the State has the support of my most earnest 
convictions — for the preservation of the just authority of 
the States is essential to the perpetuity and usefulness of 
the government of the United States, and the mainten- 
ance of both is essential to that which is more precious 
than either — the liberties of the people." 

The best compliment that can be paid to the admin- 
istration of Governor Palmer is to say that he alone 
was responsible for it. While he was not a discreet 
party man, yet he was a good Governor; he magnified 
and enlarged the powers and duties of the Executive 
office, and thereby elevated and dignified its character. 
Under the Constitution of 1848, the laws had become 
strained or lax. The necessities of the State in war 
times had caused the law-makers to overlook, in many 
instances, the written letter of that instrument, and when 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 241 

it became necessary to revise the laws under the Constitution 
of 1870, implicit care was not taken to keep witliin its limits, 
and Governor Palmer was kept busy in the discussion of 
constitutional questions. In a single session he vetoed as 
many as one hundred and twelve acts on constitutional 
grounds. It became a by-word with Uiembers, when a 
constitutional question was raised against the passage of 
a bill, to say: "We will not discuss the question here; 
if there is anything unconstitutional in the bill Grovernor 
Palmer will find it out." 

Governor Ogles by was inaugurated on the 13th of Jan- 
uary, and delivered a brief address, in which he took 
occasion to discuss, with feeling and freedom. National 
questions, and pointed with satisfaction to the proud po- 
sition Illinois occupied in the National Union. 

On the 20th of January, Governor Oglesby was elected 
United States Senator, over Lyman Trumbull, by a vote 
of 84 to 62, and on the 23d resigned the office of Gov- 
ernor, when Lieutenant-Governor Beveridge became Gov- 
ernor, and Senator Early, who had been elected President 
2^ro tempore of the Senate, acting Lieutenant-Governor. 

The General Assembly remained in session until May 
6, when a recess was taken until January 8, 1874. 

The more important acts which were passed by this 
Assembly and received the approval of the Governor, 
were as follows : Acts to reorganize agricultural socie- 
ties; to authorize the Board of Canal Commissioners 
to construct a dam and lock at or near Copperas 
Creek ; to make appropriation to continue the work 
on the new State House ; to amend an act to provide for 
the incorporation of cities and villages ; to amend the 
election laws ; to amend an act entitled "an act to pro- 
•vide for the incorporation of associations for conducting 
and maintaining railways;" to amend an act entitled "an 
—16 



242 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

act to regulate public warehouses and the warehousing' 

and inspection of grain," and for the appropriation of 

moneys necessary to carry on the State Government and 
its institutions. 



CHAPTER XXXI, 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1874. 



The Liberal Republican party ceased as a State or Na- 
tional organization at the close of the campaign of 1872, 
and on its ruins was formed in this State the Anti-Mo- 
nopoly party, which met in convention at Springfield, 
June 10, 1874, and nominated David Gore for Treasurer, 
and S. M. Etter for Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. 

The Eepublican party met in convention at Springfield, 
June 17, and nominated Thomas S. Ridgway for Treas- 
urer, and Wm. B. Powell for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

The Democrats, in the meantime, had reorganized, and 
they met August 26, and nominated Charles Carroll for 
Treasurer, and S. M. Etter for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

There was little or no general canvass of the State, and the 
people were left to vote without much direction from party 
leaders. The nomination of Mr. Etter by the Democrats 
had given him a clear field against Mr. Powell, the Re- 
publican nominee, and the result was that while Mr. 
Ridgway was elected by a plurality of 34,805 over Mr. Car- 
roll, Mr. Powell was defeated by a plurality of 30,506. 

The aggregate vote for State officers and members of 
Congress, is as follows : 



politics and politicians of illinois. 243 

Treasurer. 

Thomas S. Eidgway, R 162,974 

Charles Carroll, D 128,169 

David Gore, A. M 75,580 

J. F. Simpson 582 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Samuel M. Etter, D. and A. M 197.490 

Wm. B. Powell, R 166,984 

Mrs. A. F. Potter 619 

Members of Congress — First District. 

Bernard G. Caulfield, D 10.211 

Sidney Smith, E 9,803 

Second District. 

Carter H. Harrison, D 9,189 

Jasper D. Ward, E 9,181 

Third District. 

Charles B. Farwell, R 8,177 

John Y. Le Moyne, D 7,991 

F. A. Hoffman, Jr 139 

Fourth District. 

Stephen A. Hurlbut, E 9,326 

John F. Farnsworth, Ind. E 8,167 

Fifth District. 

Horatio C. Burchard, E 9,232 

Daniel J. Pinkney, D 7,008 

Sixth District. 

Thomas J. Henderson, E 9,390 

Isaac H. Elliott 6,299 

Seventh District. 

Alexander Campbell, G. B 10,308 

Franklin Corwin, E 7,905 

Eighth District. 

Greenbury L. Fort, E 8,753 

J. G. Bayne, D 7,463 



244 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Ninth Distkict. 

Richard H. Whiting, R 9,755 

Leonard F. Eoss, D 9,495 

Tenth District. 

John C. Bagby, D 9,784 

Henderson Ricbey, R 8,824 

Eleventh District. 

Scott Wike, D 11,489 

David Beatty, R 7,429 

TvPELFTH District. 

Wm. M. Springer, D 10,623 

Andrew Simpson, R 9,027 

J. B. Turner 2,417 

Thirteenth District. 

Adlai E. Stephenson, G. B 11,135 

John McNuha, R 9,903 

Geo. W. Minier 130 

Fourteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, R 11,244 

James H. Piclireli, D 10,603 

Fifteenth District. 

John R. Eden, D 12,084 

Jacob W. Wilkm 10,789 

Sixteenth District. 

W. A. J. Sparks, D 8.723 

James S. Martin, R 7,932 

Eolla B. Henry, G. B 4,023 

Seventeenth District. 

Wm. R. Morrison, D 13,086 

John I. Rinaker, R 8,438 

Eighteenth District. 

Wilham Hartzell, D 10,866 

Isaac Clements, R 9,280 

Nineteenth District. 

Wihinm B. Anderson, G. B 8 293 

Samuel S. Marshall, D 7,556 

Green B. Raiim, R 5,485 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



245 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1875. 



Governor — John L. Beveridge. 

President of Senate and acting Lieut. -Gov. — A. A. Glenn. 

Secretary of State —George H. Harlow. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — C. E. Lippincott. 

Treasurer — Thomas S. Kidgway. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — S. M. Etter. 

Attorney-General — James K. Edsall. 

Twenty-ninth General Assembly. 

The Twenty-ninth General Assembly convened January 
6, and was composed of the following members: 



Senate. 



John C. Haines, Chicago. 
E. S. Thompson, Chicago. 
Miles Kehoe, Chicago. 
Sam'l K. Dow, Cbicago. 
John Buehler, Chicago. 
H. F. Waite, Chicago. 
M. F. Piobinson, Chicago, 
C. W. Upton, Waukegan. 
John Early, Eockford. 
Henry Green, Elizabeth. 
H. A. Mills, Mt. Carroll. 
Geo. P. Jacobs, Oregon. 
M. B. Castle, Sandwich. 
E. B. Canfield, Aurora. 
A. 0. Marshall, Joliet. 
A. S. Palmer, Onarga. 



Fawcett Plumb, Streator. 
James G. Strong. Dwight. 
L. D. Whitiug, Tiskilwa. 
E. A. Wilcox, Minonk. 
E. C. Moderwell, Geneseo. 
P. PI. Sanford, Knoxville. 
J. T. Morgan, Monmouth. 
Benj. Warren, LaHarpe. 
E. Brown, Eushville. 
Jobn S. Lee, Peoria. 
Jas. W. Eobinson, Tremont. 
John Cusey, Heyworth. 
J. F. Harrold, Clinton. 
J. C. Sheldon, Urbana. 
Geo. Hunt, Paris. 
C. B. Steele, Mattoon. 



246 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



T. Brewer, Majority Point. 
W. H. Hundley, Taylorville. 
W. E. Slmtt, Spiingfitld. 

A. A. Glenn, Mt. Sterling. 

B. Arntzen, Quincy. 

W. R. Archer, Pittsfield. 

C. I). Hodges, Carrollton. 
B. T. Burke, CailniviJle. 
W. H. Krome, Edwardsville. 
Greo. Gundlach, Carlyie. 



J. Thompson, Vandalia. 
G. W. Henry, Louisville. 
0. V. Smith, Lawrenceville. 
T. 8. Casey, Mt. Vernon. 
W. H. Parish, Eldorado. 
W. K. Murphy, Pinckneyville. 
J. Eainey, Belleville. 
Jesse Ware, Jonesboro. 
Sam'l Glassford, Vienna. 



House of Eepresentatives. 



J. B. Bradwell, Chicago. 
Lincoln Dubois, Chicago. 
M. J. Wentworth, Chicago. 
John Hise, Chicago. 
Geo. M. Bogue, Chicago. 
S. P. Hopkins, Chicago. 
Wm. Plouan, Chicago. 
C. L. Niehoff, Chicago. 
T. L. Halpin, Chicago. 
Orrin L. Mann, Chicago. 
Wm. H. Condon, Chicago. 
M. M. Miller, Chicago. 
M. J. Dunne, Chicago. 
J. S. Arwedson, Chicago. 
C. L. Linderberg, Chicago, 
Robert Thiem, Chicago. 
John C. Baiker, Chicago. 
W. H. Stickney, Chicago. 
W. H. Skelly, jr., Lemont. 
G. Dunlap, Norwood Park. 
Wm. Freise, Desplaines. 
W. A, James, Higliland Park, 
E. M. Haines, Waukegan. 
E. K. Granger, McHenry. 
Andrew Ashton, Durand. 
R. F. Crawford, Rockt'ord. 
M. K. Avery, Belvidere. 
Forest Turner, Nora. 
E. L. Cronkrite, Freeport. 
A. M. Jones, JoDaviess. 
A. R. McCoy, Fulton City. 
N. D. French, Thompson. 
Tyler McWhorter, Sterling. 



Henry D. Dement, Dixon. 
Isaac Rice, Mt. Morris. 

F. H. Marsh, Oregon. 
Philip Collins, Morris. 
Joshua McGrath, Lisbon. 

D. B. Bailey, Gardner. 

V. Fredenhagen, Downer's G. 
James F. Clafflin, Lombard. 
James Herrington, Geneva. 
Wm. Mooney, Braidwood. 
H. H. Stasson, jr., Monee. 
L. H. Goodrich, Braidwood, 
Geo. W. Parker, Watseka, 
George C. Wilson, Unarga. 
R. Richardson, Yellowhead. 
C. L. Hoffman, Farm Ridge. 

G. W. Armstrong, Seneca. 

E. H. Spicer, Marseilles. 
Albert M. Haling, Roberts. 
Joseph L Robinson, Elliott. 
David McLitosh, Newton. 
A. G. Mammond, Toulon. 
J. H. Moore, Tiskilwa. 

J. J. Herron, Princeton. 
Henry France, Roanoke. 
J. T. Thornton, Magnolia. 
Nathaniel Moore, Wenona. 
Rufus M. Grinnell, Cordova. 
John T. Browning, Molina. 
John P. Fox, Windsor. 
John H. Lewis, Knoxville. 
John T. McGiniiis, Joy. 
C. K. Harvey, Knoxville. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 247 

I. L. Christie, Monmouth. R. H. Downing, Keokuk J. 
€. W. Buydston, Cameron. James Callans, Winchester. 
A. W. King, Macomb. John Moses, Winchester. 

David Rankin, Biggsviile. J. S. Harvey, Belleview. 
W. Jenney, Burnside. A. J. Thompson, Bethel. 

Paul D. Salter, Biggsviile. Samuel Woods, Pisgah. 
James DeWitt, Littleton. John Gordon, Lynnville. 
S. P. Cummings, Astoria. S. P. Gilbert, Carlinville. 
S. Y. Thornton, Canton. 0. P. Powell, Jerseyville. 
Wm. Rowclitf, Robin's Nest. H. F. Martin, Brighton. 
Julius S. Starr, Peoria. ' F. S. Pike, St. Jacob. 
Patrick W. Dunn, Peoria. Geo. A. Smith, Alton. 
Richard Holmes, Delevan. Geo. H. Weigler, Alton. 
R. A. Talbott, Burton View. J. K. McMasters, Nashville. 
Thomas Windle, Lincoln, A. G. Henry, Greenville. 
T. P. Rogers, Bloomiugton. Wm. H. Moore, Nashville. 
J. F. Winter, Bloomington. Wm. R. Hubbard, Kinmundy. 
A. E. Stewart, Bloomington. Thos. E. Merritt, Sa.'em. 
8haw Pease, Niantic. John B. Johnson, Alma. 

John H. Tyler, Dewitt. Samuel R. Hall, Albion. 

Samuel S. Jack, Decatur. Byron J. Rotan, Louisville. 
Wm. H. Phillips, Rantoul. John Landrigan, Albion. 
Geo. H. Benson, Rantoul. E. Callahan, Robmson. 
W, C. Hubbart, Monticello. John H. Halley, Newton. 
Wm. S. O'Hair, Paris. J. W. Briscoe, Darwin. 

John Sidell, Fairmount. H. W. Hall, Knight's Pr. 

Andrew Gundy, Bismark. A. B. Barrett, Mt. Vernon. 
J. A. Connolly, Charleston. Boon Kershaw, Grayville. 
E. M. Vance, Mattoon. J. N. Wasson, Shawneetown. 

R. A. Wilson, Williamsburg. A. C. Neilson, Marion. 
Wm. Gillmore, Edgewood. Isaac Smith, Ridgway. 
W. Middlesworth, Shelbyville. J. W. Rickert, Waterloo. 
William Chew, Shelbyville. Samuel McKee, Blair, 
Levi Scott, Pana. J. Chesnutwood, Evansville. 

John C, Hagler, Pana. Win. G. Kase, E. St. Louis. 

W. F. Mulkey, Nokomis. John Thomas, Belleville. 
Jos. L. Wilcox, Loami. James Rankin, Lebanon. 

Fred Gehring, Springfield. F. E. Albright, Murphysboro. 
S. M. Cullom, Springfield. M. J. Inscore, Anna. 
N. W. Branson, Petersburg. Claiborn Winston, Cairo. 
A. G. Nance, Petersburg. Benj. 0. Jones, Metropolis. 
John W. Pngh, Mason City. James R. Stegall, Oak. 
T. J. Bates, Camp Point. L. F. Plater, Elizabethtown. 
Ira M. Moore, Qaincy. 

In this General Assembly the Republicans lost their 
majority, and by a fusion with tlie Independents the 



248 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Democrats succeeded in obtaining control of both houses. 
On the sixteenth ballot A. A. Glenn was elected President 
pro tempore of the Senate, over John Early, by a vote of 
26 to 23, when he became acting Lieutenant-Governor, 
and E. T. Townes, Secretary, over D. A. Kay, by a vote 
of 26 to 24. 

In the House, E. M. Haines was elected Speaker, over 
Shelby M. Cullom, by a vote of 81 to 68, and Jeremiah 
J. Crowley, Clerk, over Daniel Shepard, by a similar 
vote. 

Governor Beveridge presented his message to the two 
houses on the 8th of January. It was a brief, business 
State paper, and confined exclusively to matters of State ; 
he congratulated the Legislature on the happy and pros- 
perous condition of the people, and commended to their 
careful and considerate attention the passage of such laws 
as would subserve the best interests of the State and foster 
and preserve the State institutions intact. 

This was a stormy session, and the leaders on either 
side sought every opportunity to take advantage of each 
other, and by reason of this it was an unprofitable session, 
in many ways. 

The laws enacted were comprised in a volume of 118 
pages, the most important of which were : the appropriation 
acts; to provide for the re-organization of cities; to enable 
corporations in other States and counties to lend money 
in Illinois ; to change the fiscal year ; to give railroad com- 
panies the right to purchase or lease roads in adjoining^ 
States ; to authorize the formation of union depots and 
stations for railroads ; to authorize the refunding of funds 
collected for 1873, under an act passed in 1869, providing 
for the payment of railroad debts of counties, townships, 
cities and towns, and to regulate the charitable institutions 
and State Eeform School, and to improve their organiza- 
tion and increase their efficiency. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 249 



CHAPTER XXXIII, 
A VISION OF WAR. 



Extract from a Speech Delivered by Robert G. Ingersoll, at the "Soldiers' 
Keunion," at Indianapolis, lud., September 21, 1S76, 



" The past rises before me like a dream. Again we are 
in the great struggle for National life. We hear the 
sounds of preparation — the music of boisterous drums — 
the silver notes of heroic bugles. We see thousands of 
assemblages, and hear the appeals of orators ; we see the 
pale cheeks of women, and the flushed faces of men ; and 
in those assemblages we see all the dead whose dust we 
have covered with flowers. We lose sight of them no 
more. We are with them when they enlist in the great 
army of freedom. We see them part with those they love. 
Some are walking for the last time in quiet woody places, 
with the maidens they adore. We hear the whisperings 
and the sweet vows of eternal love as they lingeringly 
part forever. Others are bending over cradles, kissing 
babes that are asleep. Some are receiving the blessings 
of old men. Some are parting with mothers, who hold 
them, and press them to their hearts again and again, 
and say nothing. Kisses and tears, tears and kisses — 
divine mingling of agony and love. And some are talking 
with wives, and endeavoring with brave words, spoken in 
the old tones, to drive from their hearts the awful fear. 
We see them part. We see the w.'fe standing in the door 
with the babe in her arms — standing in the sunlight sob- 
bing — at the turn of the road a hand waves — she answers 
by holding high in her loving arras the child. He is gone, 
and forever. 

"We see them all as they march proudly away under 
the flaunting flags, keeping time to the grand, wild music 



250 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

of war, — marching down the streets of the great cities — 
through the towns and across the prairies — down to the 
fields of glory, to do and to die for the eternal right. 

" We go with them, one and all. We are by their side 
on all the gory fields — in all the hospitals of pain — on all 
the weary marches. We stand guard with them in the 
wild storm and under the quiet stars. We are with them 
in ravines running with blood — in the furrows of old 
fields. We are with them between contending hosts, un- 
able to move, wild with thirst, the life ebbing slowly away 
among the withered leaves. We see them pierced by balls 
and torn with shells, in the trenches, by forts, and in the 
whirlwind of the charge, where men become iron, with 
nerves of steel. 

" We are with them in the prisons of hatred and fam- 
ine ; but human speech can never tell what they endured. 

" We are at home when the news comes that they are 
dead. We see the maiden in the shadow of her first sor- 
row. We see the silvered head of the old man bowed 
with his last grief. 

" The past rises before us, and we see four millions of 
human beings governed by the lash — we see them bound 
hand and foot — we hear the strokes of cruel whips — we 
see the hounds tracking women through tangled swamps. 
We see babes sold from the breasts of mothers. Cruelty 
unspeakable ! Outrage infinite ! 

" Four million bodies in chains — four million souls in 
fetters. All the sacred relations of wife, mother, father 
and child trampled beneath the brutal feet of might. And 
all this was done under our beautiful banner of the free. 

" The past rises before us. We hear the roar and 
shriek of the bursting shell. The broken fetters fall. 
These heroes died. We look. Instead of slaves, we see 
men and women and children. The wand of progress 
touches the auction-block, the slave-pen, the whipping- 
post, and we see homes, and fire-sides, and school-houses, 
and books, and where all was want and crime and cruelty 
and fear, we see the faces of the free. 

" These heroes are dead. They died for liberty — they 
died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land 
they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, 
under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful wil- 
lows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the 
shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of 
storm, each in the windowless palace of Eest. Earth may 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 251 

run red with other wars — they are at peace. In the midst 
of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serinity 
of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers, living and 
dead : Cheers for the living ; tears for the dead." 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1876, 



In 1876, the contest was again triangular in part. The 
Eepublicans met in State convention May 24, to nominate 
a 8tate ticket and appoint delegates to the National Con- 
vention. Shelby M. Cullom was nominated for Governor, 
Andrew Siiuman for Lieutenant-Governor, George H. Har- 
low for Secretary of State, Thomas B. Needles for Auditor, 
Edward Eutz for Treasurer, and James K. Edsall, who 
was the incumbent, for Attorney-General. The Greenback 
party was the next to nominate a State ticket. Lewis 
Steward was nominated for Governor, James H. Pickrell 
for Lieutenant-Governor, Marsena M. Hooton for Secre- 
tary of State, John Hise for Auditor, Henry T. Aspern 
for Treasurer, and Winfield S. Coy for Attorney-General. 
The Democrats met July 27. and nominated Lewis Steward 
for Governor, Archibald A. Glenn for Lieutenant-Governor, 
Stephen Y. Thornton for Secretary of State, John Hise 
for Auditor, George Guudlach for Treasurer, and Edmund 
Lynch for Attorney-General. 

The National Greenback Convention met May 17, at 
Indianapolis, and nominated Peter Cooper, of New York, 
for President, and Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio, for Vice- 
President. 



252 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The Eepublicans met in National Convention at Cincin- 
nati, June 14, and nominated K. B. Hayes, of Ohio, for 
President, and Wm. A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice- 
President. 

The Democratic National Convention met in St. Louis, 
June 17, and nominated Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, 
for President, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, for 
Vice-President. 

The nomination of Steward and Hise by the Democrats, 
for Governor and Auditor, virtually left the Greenback 
party out of the fight, and the Democrats entered upon 
the canvass with the hope of carrying at least two mem- 
bers of the State ticket. The nomination of Hayes did 
not give perfect satisfaction to the Eepublicans, and the 
canvass was rather spiritless until near the close of the 
campaign, when many eminent speakers from other States 
were brought into service, notably among whom was James 
G. Blaine. On the contrary, the nomination of Tilden 
and Hendricks pleased the Democrats to the utmost, and 
they labored in and out of season for the success of both 
the State and National tickets ; indeed, the party had not 
been so well organized since 1860; but the Eepublicans 
carried the State for all their nominees, by a greatly re- 
duced majority. 

The aggregate vote for State officers. Congressmen and 
Presidential electors is as follows : 

Governor. 

Shelby M. Cullom, E 279,263 

Lewis Steward, D.-G 272,465 

Scattering 365 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Andrew Shuman, E 278,167 

Archibald A. Glenn, D 255,970 

James H. Pickrell, G 18,053 

Scattering 362 



politics and politicians of illinois. 253 

Secretary of State. 

George H. Harlow, E 278,457 

Stephen Y. Thornton, D 255.990 

Marsena M. Hooton, G 17,848 

Scattering 482 

Auditor. 

Thos. B. Needles, E 278.628 

John Hise, D.-G 273.052 

Scattering 378 

Treasurer. 

Edward Eutz, E 277,788 

George Gundlach, D 255.044 

Henry T. Aspern, G 19,439 

Scattering 338 

Attorney- General. 

James K. Edsall, E 278.472 

Edmund Lynch, D 257 057 

Wintield S. Coy, G 17,433 

Scattering 367 

Members of Congress — First District. 

William Aldrich, E 16.578 

John E. Hoxie, D 14,101 

George S. Bowen 486 

Second District. 

Carter H. Harrison, D 14,732 

George E. Davis, E 14,090 

S. E. Norton 118 

Third District. 

Lorenz Brentano, E 11,722 

John V. Le Moyne 11,435 

Fourth District. 

William Lathrop, E 13,241 

John F. Farasworfch 8,149 

Stephen A. Hurlbut 5,991 



254 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Fifth District. 

Horatio C. Burchard, E 15,703 

Jere Pattison, D 10,600 

Sixth District. 

Thomas J. Henderson, E 15,560 

Charles Dunham, D 9,821 

Austin Sykes 283 

Seventh District. 

Philip C. Hayes, E 14,849 

Alexander Campbell, G. B 13,313 

Eighth District. 

Greenbury L. Fort, E 15,011 

George W. Parker, D 12,211 

Ninth District. 

Thomas A. Boyd, E 14,548. 

George A. Wilson, D 14,001 

Wm. W. Mathews, G. B 678 

Tenth Dj strict. 

Benjamin F. Marsh, E 14,252 

J. H. Hungate, D 13,496 

J. L. Christie 147 

Eleventh District. 

Eobert M. Knapp, D 17,949 

Joseph Bobbins, E 12,618 

J. A. Edie 35 

Twelfth District. 

William M. Springer, D 17,400 

David L. Phillips 13,744 

Thirteenth District. 

Thomas F. Tipton, E 15,229 

Adlai E. Stevenson, G. B 14,977 

Fourteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, E 17,796 

John C. Black, D 16,404 



politics and politicians of illinois. 255 

Fifteenth Disteict. 

John E. Eden, D 18.714 

George D. Chafee, E 13,7()5 

A. J. Hunter 72 

Sixteenth District. 

William A. J. Sparks, D 14,591 

Edwin M. Ashcraft, E 12,763 

Seventeenth District. 

William E. Morrison, D 17,036 

Henry L. Baker, E 13,029 

Eighteenth Distrtct. 

William Hartzell, D 14,691 

Benjamin L. Wiley, E 14,671 

Nineteenth District. 

Richard W. Townshend, D 12,720 

Edward Bonham, E 8,558 

William B. Anderson, G. B : .... 7,463 

Electors — Hayes, E. 

John I. Einaker 277,227 

Peter Schuttler 278,228 

George Armour 278,232 

Bolivar G. Gill 276,740 

Louis Schafifuer 278,231 

Allen C. Fuller 278,232 

Joseph M. Bailey 277,231 

John B. Hawley 277,232 

Franklin Corwin 277,215 

Jason W. Strevell 277,226 

Oscar F. Price 277,232 

Alexander McLean 277.231 

David E. Beatty 277,230 

Philip N. Minear 277.231 

Michael Donahue 277,230 

Hugh Crea 277,215 

George D. Chafee 277.233 

James M. Truitt 277,233 

Cyrus Happy 277,233 

George C. Eoss 277.235 

Joseph J. Castles 277,029 



256 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

TiLDEN, D. 

William F. Coolbaugh 258.445 

William J. Allen 258,445 

Thomas Hoyne 258.598 

Samuel S. Hayes 258,599 

Arno Voss 258 599 

Thomas B. Coulter 258,601 

WilUam 0. Green 258,601 

James S. Eckels 258,465 

George B. Martin 258,411 

Henry W. Bullock 258 275 

Lawrence W. James 258,508 

James W. Davidson 258,462 

William G. Ewmg 249,347 

Charles A. Keyes 258.466 

Ciesar A. Roberts 258.471 

Orlando B. Ficklin 258.466 

Eobert N. Bishop 258.468 

Jesse J. Phillips 258,468 

Charles A. Walker 258.467 

J. Perry Johnson 258.467 

John M. Crebs 258,283 

Wigfall G. Ewing 9,119 

W. T. Davidson 21 

William Gordon 9 

Cooper, G. B. 

Sydney Myers 18,241 

James W. ^ Singleton 17,107 

A. J. Grover 17,121 

Andrew C. Cameron 17,174 

H. B. Barrett 17.191 

S. M. Slade 17,232 

J. M. King 17,231 

S. M. Smith 17.229 

John M. Thompson 17.225 

J ames G. Bayne 17,231 

H. Christman 16,745 

A. J. Streetor 17,233 

H. K. Davis 17,223 

John McConnell 17,224 

Thomas Snell 17,226 

Jesse Harper 17.223 

Charles Voris 17,223 

Eoila B. Henry 17,223 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 257 

John Hinchclitie 17,22G 

8. I. Davis 17,221 

John Landrigan 10,857 

The Prohibition and Anti-Secret Society parties also run 
electoral tickets ; the highest vote polled by the Prohibi- 
tioniEts was 249, and 181 by the Anti- Secret Society. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

STATE GOVERNMENT- 1877. 



Governor — Shelby M. Cullom. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Andrew Shuman. 

Secretary of State — George H. Harlow. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — T. B. Needles. 

Treasurer — Edward Kutz. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — S. M. Etter. 

Attorney- General — James K. Edsall. 

Thirtieth General Assembly. 

The Thirtieth General Assembly convened January 3, 
and was composed of the following members: 

Senate. 

John C. Haines, Chicago. H. A. Mills, Mt. Carroll. 

Daniel N. Bash, Chicago. H. D. Dement, Dixon. 

Miles Kehoe, Chicago. M. B. Castle, Sandwich. 

Francis H. Eiddle, Chicago. J. H. Mayborne, Geneva. 

John Buehler, Chicago. A. 0. Marshall, Joliet. 

M. A. DeLany, Chicago. T. P. Bonfield, Kankakee. 

M. W. Robinson, Chicago. Faucett Plumb, Streator. 

M. L. Joslyn, Woodstock. S. T. Fosdick, Chatsworth. 

John Early,! Rockford. L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 

R. H. McClellan, Galena. Henry J. Frantz, Eoanoko. 



iDied September, 1877, 

—17 



258 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP n.r.m ms 



E. C. Moderwell, Genesee. 

B. C. Taliaferro, Keithsburg. 
John T. Morgan, Monmouth. 
William Scott, Dallas City. 
Eobert Brown, Eushville. 
John S. Lee, Peoria. 

J. W. Eobison, Tremont. 
J. M. Hamilton, Bloomingt'n. 
J. F. Harold, DeWitt. 

C. P. Davis, Monticello. 
George Hunt, Paris. 
Maiden Jones. Tuscola. 
Thos. Brewer, Majority Poi't. 
E. Southworth, Litchtield. 
Wm. E. Shutt, Springfield. 
Luther Dearborn, Havana. 



Bernard Arntzen, Quincv. 
Wm. E. Archer, Pittsfield. 
C. D. Hodges, Carrollton, 
G. W. Herdman, Jerseyville. 
W. H. Krome, Edwardsville. 
F. E. W. Brink, Hoylton. 
John Thompson, Vandalia. 
E. P. Hanna, Fairfield. 
0. V. Smith, Lawrenceville. 
C. E. McDowell, Carmi. 
Wm. H. Parish, Eldorado. 
Ambrose Hoener, Waterloo. 
Jefferson Eainey, Belleville. 
Jesse Ware, Jonesboro. 
S. M. Glassford, Vienna. 



House of Eepresentatives. 



W. H. Thompson, Chicago. 
Charles L. Easton, Chicago. 
M. J. Wentworth, Chicago. 
S. P. Hopkins, Chicago. 
J. W. E. Thomas, Chicago. 
Joseph E. Smith, Chicago. 
James B. Taylor, Chicago. 
H, F. Sheridan, Chicago. 
P. J. Hickey, Chicago. 

E. B. Sherman, Chicago. 
George W. Eeed, Chicago. 
Jos. J. Kearney, Chicago. 
John A. Eoche, Chicago. 
Peter Kiolbassa, Chicago. 
Michael J. Dunne, Chicago. 
Eugene A. Sittig, Chicago. 
Arno Vo3s, Chicago. 
Austin 0. Sexton, Chicago, 
J. S. Bielefeldt, Thornton. 
John H. Kedzie, Evanston. 
G. C. Klehm, Niles Center. 

F. K. Granger, McHenry. 
W. A.James, Highland Park. 
E. M. Dennis. Waukegan. 

G. H. Hollister, Eockton. 
John Budloug, Eockford. 
Andrew Ashton, Durand. 



James S. Taggart, Eidott. 
Hiram Tyrrell, Plum Eiver. 
E. L. Cronkrite, Freeport. 
James Shaw, Mt. Carroll. 
E. H. Nevitt, Albany. 
J. M. Stowell, Mt. CarroU. 
Abijah Powers, Sterling. 
Frank N. Tice, Forreston. 
B. H. Truesdell, Lee. 
Peter S. Lott, Newark. 
Wm. M. Byers, Sycamore. 
Amos D. Clover, Gardner. 
Henry H. Evans, Aurora. 
Jas. G. Wright, Naperville. 
James Herrington, Geneva. 
Fred Kouka, Eagle Lake. 
L. H. Goodrich, Braidwood. 
D. H. Pinney, Joliet. 
Conrad Secrest, Watseka. 
John A. Koplin, Buckley. 

D. C. Taylor, Kankakee. 
L. C. Crooker, Mendota. 
S. M. Heslet, Meriden. 

G. W. Armstrong, Seneca. 
George B. Gray, Pontiac. 
John H. Collier, Gibson. 

E. C. Allen, Long Point. 



P0LITI08 AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



259 



Charles Baldwin, Princeton. 
Daniel J. Hurd, Lafayette. 
Jas. J. Herron, Princeton. 
Joel A. Eanney, Metamora. 
C. Fosbender, Sparland. 
Eli V. Raley, Granville. 
J. T. Browning, Molme. 
John P. Fox, Geneseo. 
R. M. Grennel, Cordovia. 
Alfred S. Curtis, Oneida. 
Jos. F. Latimer, Abingdon. 
A. M. Brown, Galesburg. 
C. W. Boydston, Cameron. 
E. K. Westfall, Bushnell. 

C. H. Whitaker, Macomb. 
Charles F. Gill, LaHarpe. 
Geo. P. Walker, Warsaw. 
John J. Eeaburn, Denver. 
J. A. Leeper, Farmington, 
Chas. F. Robison, Ellisville. 
W. T. McCreery, Huntsville. 
L. A. Wood, Chillicothe. 
Nelson D. Jay, Elmwood. 
Robert S. Bibb, Peoria. 
Joseph C. Ross, Lincoln. 

D. C. Smith, Pekin. 
Wm. A. Moore, Morton. 

T. F. Mitchell, Bloomington. 
J. F. Winter,^ Bloomington. 
T. P. Rogers, Bloomington. 
Thomas J. Abel, Decatur. 
Samuel S. Jack, Decatur. 
Wm. L. Chambers, Clinton. 
Robert A. Bower, Tolono. 

E. C. Bartholo, Mahomet. 
Simeon H. Busey, Urbana. 
J. H. Oakwood, Catlin. 
Alvan Gilbert, Rossville. 
Robt. L. McKinlay, Paris. 
Henry A. Neal, Charleston. 
R. Hefferman, Mattoon. 
Stephen Cannon, Sullivan. 
Gersham Monohon, Greenup. 
N. P. Robinson, Effingham. 
Thos. J. Fritts, Cold Springs. 



David H. Zepp, Nokomis. 
W. E. Morrison,Morrisonvre. 
Burrel Phillips, Hillsboro. 
John Foutch, New Berlin. 
J. Mayo Palmer, Springfield. 
DeWitt W. Smith. Bates. 
Jacob Wheeler, Havana. 
W. L, Vandeventer,Mt.Ster'g. 
Cornelius Rourke, Petersburg. 
Thomas G. Black, Clayton. 
Hope S. Davis, Quincy. 
J. H. Hendrickson, Mendon. 
Asa C. Mathews, Pittsfield. 
S. R. Powell, Winchester. 
B. J. Hall, Hardin. 
I. L. Morrison. Jacksonville. 
W. P. Callon, Jacksonville. 
Lucien Kmg, Kane. 
R. Rowett, Carlinville. 
H. W. Wall, Staunton. 
J. N. English, Jerseyville. 
John S. Dewey, Troy. 
S. A. Buckmaster, Alton. 

F. M, Pearce, Alhambra. 
R. Tierney, Okawville. 
W. M. Evans, Greenville. 

G. F. Berry, Greenville. 
F. Remann, Vandalia. 
A. J. Hogge, Greenland. 
Thos. E. Merritt, Salem. 
H. H. Chessley, Louisville. 
W. R.Wilkinson, Friendsviile. 
Geo. D. Ramsey, Xenia. 

W. Lindsey, Martinsville. 
J. H. Halley,2 Newton. 
A. J. Reavill, Flat Rock. 
Ross Graham, Carmi. 
T. Connelly, MoLeansboro. 
T. J. Williams, Spring Garden 
P. Phillips, Webb's Hill. 
J. M. Washburn, Marion. 
T. M, Mooneyham, Benton. 
T. T. Fountain, DuQuoin. 
J. Boyd, Pinckneyville. 
S. P. Mace, Percy. 



^ Resignation accepted August 8, 1877. 



« Resigned Aug. 2. 1877. 



260 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

J. W. Wells, Marrissa. ¥. E. Albright, Murphysboro. 

A. S. Wilderman, Belleville, W. 8. Morris, Elizabethtown. 
J. M. Whitaker, Summerfield.xl. D. Pierce, Golconda. 
W.H. Woodward, Carbondale.E. B. Watkins, Mound City. 
Alex. H. Irwin^, Cairo. 

The Kepublicans being in the minority in the Senate, 
the Democrats and Independents united and organized this 
body. Eawcett Plumb was elected President pro tempore, 
and James H. Paddock, Secretary. 

In the House, James Shaw was elected Speaker, over 
Samuel A. Buckmaster, by a vote of 78 to 65, and E. F. 
Button, Clerk, over Thomas S. Bouton, by a vote of 79 
to 70. 

Governor Beveridge presented his message to the two 
houses on the 5th. It contained the usual recommenda- 
tions, and closed with this patriotic reference to National 
questions : 

" In my former messages I studiously avoided all ques- 
tions of National polity, confining myself strictly to matters 
of State. At the close of my administration, and in view 
of the fact that the Nation has lately passed through the 
excitement of a popular election, and the public mind is 
more or less agitated by the results of that election, it 
may not be improper in me to express my confidence in 
the wisdom and patriotism of the American people peace- 
ably to adjust all difficulties. I advise moderation, invoke 
wise counsels, and supplicate peace. We want no more 
war. The blood of the late fratricidal strife still reddens 
the earth ; the graves of the fallen are yet fresh and visi- 
ble ; their widows and orphans are still living among us ; 
the griefs and sorrows of the heart are yet unassuaged. 
Keeping in grateful remembrance the heroic sacrifice for 
our country, let us lay aside all animosity and bitterness, 
heal the broken hearts, build up the waste places, and 
bind all sections of our beloved country forever together 
by the bonds of love and prosperity. No matter how the 
Presidential question may be eventually decided by the 
proper authorities, for one I shall willingly submit to the 
decision, and join all persons of every party for the main- 
tenance of law, the preservation of public order, and the 
pnotection of all citizens of every race, color and condition, 

1 Keaigned. February 12, 1878. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 261 

in the full and peaceable enjoyment and exercise of 
all their rights, privileges and immunities under the Con- 
stitution and the laws." 

During the administration of Governor Beveridge, the 
prmcipal of the State debt was reduced $250,000. 

On January 9, the incoming Governor, S. M. CuUom, 
took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural mes- 
sage to the two houses. Lieut. -Gov. Shuman entered upon 
his duties as presiding officer of the Senate the same day. 

Among other duties devolving upon this General Assem- 
bly was the election of a United States Senator. Gen. 
John A. Logan was the unanimous nominee of the Eepub- 
lican caucus, and Gen. John M. Palmer of the Democratic. 
The Independents held the balance of power, consequently 
neither of the candidates possessed a majority. The two 
houses met in joint session on the 18th of January, and 
balloted six times for Senator. On the first ballot Logan 
received the votes of 21 Senators and 78 Kepresentatives, 
and Palmer 21 Senators and 67 Eepresentatives. Seven 
Senators voted for Wm. B. Anderson, and six Represen- 
tatives for David Davis. Two members of the House — 
Busey and Bartholo — refrained from voting. On the last 
ballot Logan's vote remained the same while Palmer lost 
two; Anderson received 7 and Davis 7. On the 22d 
the name of Gen. Palmer was withdrawn, and on the first bal- 
lot thereafter Logan received 99 votes, Wm. B. Anderson 
85, John C. Haines 7, Wm. C. Goudy 7, Wm. H. Parish 
1, A. A. Glenn 1, S. S. Marshall 1, and C. B. Lawrence 1. 
Five additional ballots were taken with a similar result. 
On the 24th, the name of Gen. Logan was withdrawn, 
and on the first ballot thereafter David Davis received 97 
votes, C. B. Lawrence 86, John C. Haines 7, John A. 
Logan 2, Wm. H. PaVish 1, Jehu Baker 1, S. M. Cullom 
1, R. G. Ingersoll 1, G. B. Raum 1, and J. L. Beveridge 1. 
Five ballots were indulged in that day without choice. 



262 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

On the 40th ballot for Senator, which occurred on the 25th 
of January, the whole number of votes cast were 200, of 
which David Davis received 101, C. B. Lawrence 94, 
John C. Haines 3, Wm. H. Parish 1, John A. Logan 1. 
Mr. Davis having received a majority of all the votes cast, 
the Speaker declared him the duly elected Senator. The 
highest number of votes during the contest received by 
Gen. Logan was 100, and by Gov. Palmer 89. 

The chief acts, exclusive of the appropriations, were : to 
provide the manner of proposing amendments to the con- 
stitution ; to levy and collect back taxes of incorporated 
cities ; for the relief of disabled members of police and 
fire departments ; to establish Appellate Courts ; to divide 
the State into judicial districts ; to extend the jurisdiction 
of county courts ; defining vagabonds and prescribing pun- 
ishment ; to prevent and punish wrongs to children ; to 
punish fraud or extravagance in the expenditure of moneys 
appropriated for public improvements ; to amend the liquor 
law; to amend the election law; to amend an act con- 
cerning insolvent debtors ; to provide for the organization 
of the State militia ; relating to miners ; providing for the 
health and safety of persons employed in coal mines ; to 
amend an act relating to the payment of railroad bonds 
by counties, cities and other municipal corporations ; re- 
lating to fencing and operating railroads ; to protect pas- 
sengers on railroads ; to prevent obstructing the business 
of railroads ; to fix rates of storage in the warehouses ; to 
amend the school law, and to establish a State Board 
of Health. 

The two houses adjourned sine die May 24. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 263 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1878. 



The campaign of 1878 was ushered in by the nomina- 
tion of three State tickets. The Greenback party held 
their convention first. Erastus N. Bates, ex-Republican 
Treasurer, was nominated for Treasurer, and F. M. Hall, 
for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The Republicans nominated John C. Smith, for Treas- 
urer, and James P. Slade, for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

The Democrats nominated Edward L. Cronkrite, for 
Treasurer, and Samuel M. Etter, the then incumbent, for 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Although three parties were contesting for the ofl&ces to 
be filled at that election, there was but little enthusiasm 
aroused among the people in general, and the candidates 
made more of a personal canvass than otherwise. The 
Republican ticket was elected by a plurality of 36,373. 

The aggregate vote for State officers and members of 
Congress is as follows: 

Treasureb. 

John C. Smith, R 206,458 

Edward L. Cronkrite, D 170,085 

Erastus N. Bates, G 65,689 

Jerome A. Gorin 2,228 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

James P. Slade, R 205,461 

Samuel M. Etter, D 171,336 

F. M. Hall, G 65,487 

Kate L. Hopkins 2,109 



264 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

FiBST DiSTBICT. 

William Aldrich, E 12,165 

James R. Doolittle, D 7,136 

William V. Barr 1,844 

John McAuliflf 2,322 

George E. Davis 2 

Second District. 

George E. Davis, E 10,347 

Miles Kehoe, Ind. D 6,111 

J ames Felcb 1,600 

George A. Schilling 2,478 

J. H. Condon 250 

John Sebolski 74 

Third District. 

Hiram Barber, E 9,574 

Lambert Tree, D 5,280 

A. B. Cornell 884 

Benjamin Sibley . 2,306 

Fourth District. 

John C. Sherwin, E 12,753 

Jonathan C. Stoughton 4,438 

Augustus Adams 3,448 

Fifth District. 

Eobert M. A. Hawk, E 11,042 

Mortimer D. Hathaway 4,823 

John M. King 4,304 

Sixth District. 

Thomas J. Henderson, E 10,964 

James W. Haney 6,675 

Charles Dunham : 3,257 

Seventh District. 

PhUip C. Hayes, E 10,712 

W. S. Brooks 5,795 

Alexander Campbell 6,512 

Eighth District. 

Greenbury L. Fort, E 11,271 

Thomas M. Shaw 4,822 

Chris. C. Strawn 6,575 



politics and poiilticians of illinois. 265 

Ninth District. 

Thomas A. Boyd, R 10,543 

George A. Wilson, D 9,802 

Alex. H. McKeigban, G 3,749 

Tenth District. 

Benjamin F. Marsh, R 11,814 

Delas P. Phelps, D 11,238 

Alson J. Streetor, G 3,496 

Ele\"enth District. 

James W. Singleton, D 11,961 

James P. Dimmitt, E 6,956 

William H. Pogue 3,034 

Twelfth District. 

William M. Springer, D 12,542 

John Cook, R 9,146 

John Mathers, G 4,611 

Thirteenth District. 

A. E. Stevenson, G 13,870 

Thomas F. Tipton, R 12,058 

L. M. Bickmore 135 

Fourteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, R 13,698 

Maiden Jones, D 11,527 

Jesse Harper, G 4,451 

Fifteenth District. 

Albert P. Forsyth, G 13,106 

Hiram B. Decius, D 12,942 

Sixteenth District. 

William A. J. Sparks, D 11,493 

BasH B. Smith, R 9,946 

James Creed 2,139 

Seventeenth District. 

William R. Morrison, D 12,436 

Jehu Baker, R 10,605 

WiUiam E. Moberly 1,598 



266 politics and politicians of illingis. 

Eighteenth District. 

John E. Thomas, K 12,686 

W. J. Allen, D 12,074 

S. J. Davis, G 2,454 

Nineteenth District. 

E. W. Townshend, D 12,603 

Eobert Bell, R 8,190 

Setb E. Crews 2,847 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 
SIDNEY BREESE. 



He is the Projector of the Illinois Central Railroad— His Wonderfal Predic- 
tion regarding the Growth and Magnitude of Railways in the United 
States. 



Until the death of Judge Breese it had never been quite 
understood who was justly entitled to the credit of project- 
ing the Illinois Central Eailroad, which has added untold 
wealth to the prairie State. Judge Breese himself lays 
claim to having projected the enterprise. In the elaborate 
memorial address of Melville W. EuUer, of Chicago, before 
the Illinois Bar Association, at Springfield, in January, 
1879, on the life and services of Judge Breese, we find 
this definitely satisfactory statement regarding the origin 
of the great enterprise. Said he: 

" In October, 1835, Judge Breese called the attention of 
the public to the importance of a direct connection of the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal, then in course of construction, 
with the lower Mississippi at Cairo, by a railroad, propos- 
ing that the road should start from the termination of the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 267 

canal, and proceed as near as might be by the route of 
the third principal meridian, through Bloomington, Deca- 
tur, Vandalia, Carlyle, Nashville, Pinckneyville, Browns- 
ville and Jonesboro, and pointing out how it could be 
done and by what means, and from that time until the 
great result was achieved he labored steadily to bring it 
about, opposing, however, the act of February, 1837, for 
a general system of internal improvements. 

" In Congress, his first movement in favor of the project 
was marked by great sagacity. He introduced, in January, 
1844, and obtained the passage of, a resolution mstructing 
the Committee on Naval Affairs to provide for an exam- 
ination of the locality at, or near, the confluence of the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, with a view to the establish- 
ment of a naval depot and dockyard, which he supported 
in an elaborate letter, under date of February 29, 1844, to 
Hon. E. H. Bayard, of Delaware, chairman of that com- 
mittee, which was printed by order of the Senate, and, 
among other things, contained the following: 'At some 
period, not distant, the projected railroad will be con- 
structed from the iron mountains and copper mines in 
Missouri to the Mississippi river, opposite the mouth of 
the Ohio. From the cars which bring metal from the 
mines, transported across the river in ferry boats, it will 
be deposited in public stores for use, or in private stores 
for transportation to more distant markets. Nor will it 
be long before the Central or Great Western Eailway of 
Illinois will be constructed, opening a route toward the 
lakes, never to be obstructed by low water or ice. Com- 
mencing at the site of the proposed depot, and running 
near five hundred miles through a region of unsurpassed 
fertility, it will not only bring in supplies inexhaustible, 
but open a communication through which naval stores 
may be sent to the lakes, it being connected with the pro- 
jected canals in Illinois and Indiana, without transhipment 
from boats on the rivers, or the interposition of other 
causes, which would render their transportation from other 
points more dilatory and expensive. 

" This was the entering wedge which opened up an 
inquiry, resulting, to use Judge Breese's language a few 
years after, 'in the growth of a great city at that point, 
of which our State will be proud. Like another queen, 
she will yet rise in splendor from the waters.' 

"In March, 1844, a bill for a grant for railway purposes 
was introduced in the House by Col. McClernand, 'than 
whom,' writes Judge Breese, ' our State never had an abler 



268 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ITLLINOIS. 

member ; ' and Senator Breese, in addition to a bill offered 
in December, 1844, introduced one in January, 1846, to 
grant to the State of Illinois alternate sections of land 
to aid in the construction of the road, making as Chair- 
man of the Committee on Public Lands, to which the 
bill was referred, the first full report ever made to Congress 
on the subject. In January, 1848, Senator Breese made 
an elaborate report upon a bill of Senator Douglas, and 
in July, 1848, reported the bill of Senator, afterward Vice- 
President, King, in favor of Alabama. 

" In December, 1848, Senator Breese made another 
report upon a bill of Judge Douglas, going fully into the 
whole subject, and endeavoring to obviate all constitutional 
and other objections to such grants, and the argument 
contained in it was made the basis of all the subsequent 
grants to this and other States. 

" In September, 1850, after Judge Breese left the Senate, 
a bill was passed which consolidated his original bill of 
1846, with that of Senator King, of 1848, and under this we 
obtained the land. 

" In 1851, when Judge Breese was a member of the 
General Assembly, and Speaker of the House, the act-was 
passed incorporating the Illinois Central Eailroad Company, 
and giving it the benefit of the grant, and Judge Breese 
thus witnessed the close of his long labors in this direction, 
labors, to some of which only this is but a mere reference, 
and it was in that year that he published a letter in which 
he says : * I claim to have first projected this great road 
in my letter of 1835, and in the judgment of impartial and 
disinterested men my claim will be allowed. I have said 
and written more in favor of it than any othei-. It has 
been my highest ambition to accomplish it, and when my 
last resting place shall be marked by the cold marble 
which gratitude or affection may erect, I desire for it no 
other inscription than this, that he who sleeps beneath it 
projected the Central Eailroad.' " 

As an evidence of the master foresight of Judge Breese, 
regarding the benefits which were to follow the path of the 
iron horse, we transfer to these pages an extract from a 
report he made in July, 1846, when a Senator in Congress 
and Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands. It 
relates to a memorial of A. Whitney, for a grant of land 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 269 

to enable him to build a railroad from Lake Michigan to 
the Pacific ocean. Summing up the whole question of 
railroad construction, he said : 

"Our whole country will be brought together at the 
grand centre in the short space of four days, allowing us 
not only to transport passengers, but all descriptions of 
merchandise and produce, from the grand center to New 
Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, Kichmond and Norfolk, 
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Bos- 
ton, and to the Pacific, in the same time, foar days; and 
from the Pacific to any of the above cities in less than 
eight days, and to China in twenty days; so that we can 
bring our vast country together in four days, and the ex- 
tremes of the globe in thirty days. A cargo of teas from 
China may then be delivered in any of our Atlantic cities 
in thirty days and in London or Liverpool in less than 
forty five days." 

Judge Breese was one of the truly great men of his day, 
and his highest ambition seemed to be to do something 
that would benefit his country and mankind, and few 
men have accomplished more in that direction than he. 

From the first advent of Judge Breese into the State 
to the day of his death, he held public office, but it is 
also true that the office sought him more that he sought 
it. He was a native of New York, born July 15, 1800; 
and in company with Samuel D. Lockwood, came to Illinois 
in 1818, arriving at Shawneetown by a flat-boat, and from 
thence he made his way across the country to Kaskaskia, 
then the seat of government, where he was made Assis- 
tant Secretary of State, under Elias Kent Kane, who had 
been a schoolmate in New York, and at whose solicita- 
tion he came West. One of his earliest achievements was 
the compilation and publication of the B.eports of the 
Supreme Court from the years 1818 to 1831 ; and it is 
said of him that he personally superintended their print- 
ing, and actually set much of the type. He was Post- 
master of Kaskaskia, Circuit Attorney under the admin- 
istrations of Governors Bond and Coles; U. S. District 



270 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

Attorney under President Adams; Circuit Judge, Chief 
Justice, United States Senator for six years; Eepresenta- 
tive in the Seventeenth General Assembly in 1851-52, and 
Speaker of that body; and in 1857 he was again elected 
to the Supreme Court of the State, which position he con- 
tinued to hold until his death, which occurred June 28, 1878. 

Judge Breese may justly be styled a benefactor of his 
country, for he seemed to have filled, at the close of a 
long and useful life, in full measure, the work God and 
nature had assigned him. 

Politically, Judge Breese died as he had lived, an ad- 
herent of the Democratic party. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

STATE GOVERNMENT- 1879. 



Governor — Shelby M. Cullom. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Andrew Shuman. 

Secretary of State — Geo. H. Harlow. 

Auditor of Public Accounts— T. B. Needles. 

Treasurer — John C. Smith. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Jas. P. Slade. 

Attorney General — Jas. K. Edsall. 

Thirty-first General Assembly. 

The Thirty-first General Assembly convened January 8, 
and was composed of the following members. 

Senate. 

George E. White, Chicago. W. T. Johnston, Chicago. 

Daniel N. Bash, Chicago. M. A. DeLany, Chicago. 

Sylvester Artley, Chicago. W. J. Campbell, Chicago. 

Francis A. Eiddle, Chicago. M. L. Joslyn, Woodstock. 



tOLITIOS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 



271 



C. E. Fuller, Belvidere. 
R. H. McClellan, Galena. 
Charles Bent, Morrison. 
H. D. Dement, Dixon. 
J. R. Marshall, Yorkville. 
J. H. Mayborne, Geneva. 
Sylvester W. Munn. Joliet. 
T. P. Bonfield, Kankakee. 
S. R. Lewis, Ottawa. 
S. T. Fosdick, Ohatsworth. 
L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 
Henry J. Frantz, Roanoke. 
Milton M. Ford, Galva. 

B. C. Taliaferro, Keithsburg. 
Wm. H. Neece, Macomb. 
Wm. Scott, Dallas City. 
Meredith Walker, Canton. 
John S. Lee, Peoria. 
Abram Mayfield, Lincoln. 

J . M. Hamilton, Bloomington 
Wm. T. Moffett, Decatur. 

C. P. Davis, Monticello. 



George Hunt, Paris. 
Maiden Jones, Tuscola. 
E. N. Rinehart, Effingham. 

E. Southworth, Litchlield. 
Wm. E. Shutt, Springfield. 
Luther Dearborn, Havana. 
Maurice Kelly, Liberty. 
Wm. R. Archer, Pittsfield. 
Wm. P. Callon, Jacksonville. 
G. W. Herdman, Jerseyville. 
A. J, Parkinson, Highland. 

F. E. W. Brmk, Hoylton. 
Thos. E. Merritt, Salem. 
R. P. Hanna, Fairfield. 
Wm. C. Wilson, Robinson. 
Chas. E. McDowell, Carmi. 
S. L. Cheaney, Harrisburg. 
Ambrose Hcener. Waterloo. 
John Thomas, Belleville. 
Jesse Ware, Jonesboro. 

A. J. Kuykendall, Vienna. 



HousK OP Representatives. 



W. H. 'Thompson, Chicago. 
M. J. Wentworth, Chicago. 

D. W. Clark, Jr., Chicago. 
Benj. M. Wilson, Chicago. 
S. P. Hopkins, Chicago. 
Patrick T. Barry, Chicago. 
Leo Meilbeck, Chicago. 

T. J. Walsh, Chicago. 
John B. Taylor, Chicago. 
Lewis H. Bisbee, Chicago. 

E. B. Sherman, Chicago. 
J. E. Murray, Chicago. 
Wm. E. Mason, Chicagxx 
Chas. Ehi'hardt, Chicago. 
Thos. F. O'Malley, Chicago. 
Christian Meyer, Chicago. 
Austin Sexton, Chicago. 
Horace M. Thomas, Chicago. 
L. C. Collins Jr, Norwood P'rk 
G. G. Struckman, Hanover. 



B. F. Weber, Havelock. 
F. K. Granger, McHenry. 
W. A. James, Highland Park 
William Price, Waukegan. 
Omar H. Wright, Belvidere. 
T. Butterworth, Rockford. 
H. W. Taylor, Rockford. 
James I. Neff, Freeport. 
Andrew Hinds, Oneco. 
Chas. S. Burt, Dunleith. 
James Shaw, Mt. Carroll. 
W. H. Allen, Erie. 
J. M. Pratt, Pratt. 
Frank N. Tice, Forrest. 
B. H. Truesdell, Amboy. 
A. P. Dysart, Nachusa. 
Wm. M. Byers, Sycamore. 
R. M. Brigham, Sandwich. 
Alonzo B, Smith, Oswego. 
Edward C. Lovell, Elgin. 



272 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 



J. C. Wright/ Naperville. 
J. Herrin^on, Geneva. 
J. Keniston, Wilton Center. 
Fred Kouka, Beecher. 
Wm. B. Thomson, Joliet. 
Conrad Secrest, Watseka. 
M. H. Peters, Watseka. 
A. Buck, Pilot Center. 
L. B. Crooker, Mendota. 
Francis Bowen, Sheridan. 
David Eichey, Tonica. 
George B. Gray, Pontiac. 
N. E. Stevens, Paxton. 
Calvin H. Frew, Paxton. 
Alfred G. Scott, Sheffield. 
S. F. Otman, Wyoming. 
Simon Elliot, Princeton. 
Joel A. Ranney, Cazenovia. 
Geo. F. Wightman, Lacon. 
C. Fosbender, Sparland. 

A. R. Mock, Cambridge. 
John W. Foy, Atkinson. 

J. W. Simonson, Port Byron. 
Eufus W. Miles, Gilson. 
J. F. Latimer, Abingdon. 
John Sloan, Douglas. 
Henry M. Lewis, Berwick. 
Henry Black, Doddsville. 
Edwin W. Allen, Berwick. 
T. B. Brumback, Plymouth. 
John J. Reaburn, Denver. 

B. R. Hamilton, Nauvoo. 
Hosea Davis, Littleton. 

C. F. Robison, Ellisville. 
W. T. McCreery,Birmingham 
H. R. Chaee, Robin's Nest. 
Bernard Cremer, Peoria. 
W. Cockle, 1 Peoria. 

David H. Harts, Lincoln. 
G. P. Orendorff, Hopedale. 
William R. Hall, Pekin. 
T. F. Mitchell, Bloomington. 
H. A. Ewing, Bloomington. 
T. P. Rogers, Bloomington. 



John H. Tyler, DeWitt. 
Geo. K. Ingham, Kenney. 
B. K. Durfee, Decatur. 
Geo. Scroggs,^ Champaign. 
James Core, Homer. 
Wm. A. Day, Champaign. 
John G. Holden, Danville. 
L. Marston, Hoopeston, 
R. L. McKinlay, Paris. 

0. B. Ficklin, Charleston. 

A. Thomason, Lovington. 
Henry A. Neal, Charleston. 
W. M. Abraham, Watson. 
James L. Ryan, Greenup. 

B. Scarlett, Moweaqua. 
J. B. Jones, Taylorville, 
W. Y. Crosthwait, Grove City. 
Geo. L, Zink, Litchfield. 
W. L. Gross, Springfield. 
John C. Snigg, Springfield. 
Carter Tracy, Rochester. 

J. F. Snyder, Virginia. 
J. W. Savage, Virginia. 
Jacob Wheeler,^ Havana. 
S. Mileham, Camp Point. 
A. M. Samuel, Burton. 
Joseph N. Carter, Quincy. 
Asa C. Mathews, Pittsfield. 
S. R. Powell, Winchester, 
Jas. H. Pleasants, Hardin. 

1. L. Morrison, Jacksonville. 
R. Vasey, Jacksonville. 

F. M. Bridges, CarroUton. 
H. W. Wall, Staunton. 
J. N. English, Jerseyville. 
Geo. E. Warren, Jerseyville. 
W. R. Prickett, Edwardsville. 
John M. Pearson, Godfrey. 
John S. Dewey, Troy. 
T. D. Hinckley, Hoyleton. 
S. W. Jones, Nashville. 
John L, Nichols, Clement. 
J. E. W, Hammond, Omega. 
FrfiTicis M. Bolt, Vandalia. 



'fiesigned. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 273 

James S. Jackson, luka. J. T. McBride, Chester. 

J. Zimmerman, Mt. Carmel. J. K. McFie, Coulterville. 

"William Bower, Olney. P. C. C. Provart, Paradise Pr. 

Ciias. Churchill, Albion. T. C. Jennings, East St. Louis. 

J, R. Johnson, West Liberty. Joseph Veile, Millstadt. 

J. W. Graham, Marshall. Henry Seiter, Lebanon. 

A. J. Eeavell, Robinson. C. H. Layman, Murphysboro. 

A. M. Green, Mt. Vernon. T. T. Robinson, Pomona. 

J. E. Moss, Mt. Vernon. T. W. Halliday, Cairo. 

C. M, Lyon, McLeansboro. James H. Carter, Vienna. 

J. M. Gregg, Harrisburg. H. H. Spencer, Mound City. 

S. C. Hall, New Haven. T. G. Farris,i Vienna. 

W. Trammell, Stone Fort. MV. V. Eldredge,- Golconda. 

Lieut. -Gov. Shuman presided over the Senate. John M. 
Hamilton, of McLean, was elected President pro tempore, 
over Wm. R. Archer, of Pike, by a vote of 27 to 22, and Jas. 
H. Paddock, of Kankakee, Secretary, over Edward L. 
Merritt, of Sangamon, by a vote of 27 to 22. 

In the House, Wm. A. James, of Lake, was elected 
Speaker, over James Herrington, of Kane, by a vote of 81 
to 59, and W. B. Taylor, of Marshall, Clerk, over Jerry 
Crowley, of Cook, by a vote of 78 to 62. 

On the 10th of January, the message of the Governor 
was read in the two houses. It contained the usual recom- 
mendations. 

The two houses met in joint session on the 21st of Jan- 
uary, and Gen. John A. Logan was elected United States 
Senator, over Gen. John C. Black, by a vote of 80 to 60. 
Oen. Black was the Democratic candidate. Ten votes 
were cast for Alexander Campbell, Greenback, and 3 for 
John McAuliffe, Socialist. 

The principal laws passed at this session, exclusive of 
the appropriation bills, were acts to create a Bureau of 
Labor Statistics ; to protect bank depositors ; to prevent 
fraud in the manufacture and sale of butter; to provide 
for the construction, repair and protection of drains, ditches 

'Died, December 10, 1878. 'Vice Farris, deceased. 

—18 



274 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and levees across the lands of others ; to amend the elec- 
tion law ; to encourage the cultivation of fishes ; to amend 
the game law ; to amend the insurance laws ; to fix the 
rate of interest; to provide for the reorganization of the 
State militia ; to provide for the safety of persons employed 
in coal mines ; to regulate pawn-brokers ; to regulate the 
manner of applying for pardons ; to amend an act for the 
protection of passengers on railroads ; to amend an act to 
regulate public warehouses; to amend an act relating to 
the payment of county and city railroad indebtedness; 
to amend the revenue law ; to amend the school law, and 
to abolish the Board of State House Commissioners. 
The duration of this session was 143 days. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1880. 



This was one of the greatest campaigns within a quarter of 
a century. The aggregate vote for the five electoral 
tickets — Democratic, Republican, Greenback, Prohibition, 
and Anti-Secret Society — was 622,118. As seems to have 
become the custom, the Republicans were the first to take 
action, their convention meeting May 20, to nominate a 
State ticket and appoint delegates to the National Con- 
vention. Shelby M. Cullom was nominated for Grovernor ; 
John M. Hamilton, for Lieutenant-Governor; Henry D. 
Dement, for Secretary of State; Charles P. Swigert, for 
Auditor ; Edward Rutz, for Treasurer, and James McCart- 
ney, for Attorney- General. 

The Greenback party met June 9, and nominated A. J. 
Streeter, for Governor, Andrew M. Adair, for Lieutenant 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 275 

Governor ; J. M. Thompson, for Secretary of State ; W. 
T. Ingram, for Auditor; J. W. Evans, for Treasurer, and 
H, G. Wliitlock, for Attorney-General. 

The Democrats met June 10, and nominated Lyman 
Trumbull, for Governor ; Lewis B. Parsons, for Lieutenant- 
Governor ; John H. Oberly, for Secretary of State ; Louis 
C. Starkel, for Auditor; Thomas Butterworth, for Treas- 
urer, and Lawrence Harmon, for Attorney-General. 

The Republican National Convention met at Chicago, 
June 2, and nominated James A. Garfield for President, 
and Chester A. Arthur for Vice-President. 

The Greenback party met in the same city in June, and 
nominated James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for President, and 
P. J. Chambers for Vice-President. 

The Democrats met at Cincinnati in July, and nomi- 
nated Wintield S. Hancock, of Pennsylvania, for President, 
and William H. English, of Indiana, for Vice-President. 

The Piepublicans made a bold, aggressive canvass, taking 
as the keynote of the campaign the tariff question. 

Although the Democratic ticket was composed, for the 
most part, of men of eminent ability, they did not enter 
upon a general discussion of the issues which divided the 
parties, but made the campaign more in the character of 
personal visits among the people ; but an active and vig- 
orous assault was kept up all along the line by the 
champions of their national ticket. 

The Greenback party made but little effort, understand- 
ing, as its leaders did, that its cause was utterly hopeless. 

The aggregate vote for State officers, Congressmen and 
Presidential electors, is as follows : 

Governor. 

Shelby M. Cullom, R 314,565 

Lyman Trumbull, D 277,532 

A. J. Streeter, G 28,898 

Uriah Copp, Jr 122 



276 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John M. Hamilton, R 317,160 

Lewis B. Parsons, D 275966 

Andrew M. Adair, G 26,774 

J. E. Lawrence 179 

Secretary of State. 

Henry D. Dement, E 317,422 

John H. Oberly, D 277,122 

J. M. Thompson, G 26,687 

Samuel Eeed 127 

Auditor. 

Charles P. Swi^ert, E 317,872 

Louis C. Starkel, D 276,440 

W. T. Ingram, G 26,213 

W. L. Cressy 126 

Treasurer. 

Edward Eutz, E 317,732 

Thomas Butterworth, D 276,670 

J. W. Evans, G 26,658 

George Harrington 182 

Attorney-General. 

James McCartney, E 318,173 

Lawrence Harmon, D : 176,062 

H. G. Whitlock, G 26,207 

Alsey B. Lee 129 

Members of Congress — First District. 

William Aldrich, E 22,307 

John Mattocks, D 18,024 

Eichard Powers 532 

J. Altpeter 605 

Second District. 

George E. Davis, E 20.603 

John F. Farnsworth, Ind 16,014 

O. A. BisLop 29 

Charles G. Dixon 461 

Keinhard Loremy 514 



politics and politicians of illinois. 277 

Third District. 

Charles B. Farwell. K 16,627 

Perry H. Smith. Jr., D 11,908 

Charles H. Adams 221 

Oscar Neebe 141 

Adolph Waldmann 111= 

Fourth District. 

John C. Sherwin, R 20 ?81 

Norman C. Warner, D 8 055 

E. W. Blaisdeli 1,159 

Fifth District. 

Eobert M. A. Hawk, R 17,061 

Larmar G. Johnson, D 7,468 

John M. King 4,160 

Sixth District. 

Thomas J. Henderson, R 16 650 

B. H. Trnesdell, D 9 631 

P. L. McKinney 2,637 

Seventh District. 

William Cullen, R 16,628 

Daniel Evans, D 12.064 

Royal E. Barber 2,204 

Eighth District. 

Lewis E. Payson, R 16,704 

Robert R. Wallace 13,972 

Ninth District. 

John H. Lewis, R - 14,658 

John S. Lee, D 14,294 

Wm. H. Reynolds, P 2,548 

Tenth District. 

Benj. F. Marsh, R 14.798 

Robert Holloway, D 13,877 

George C. Meador 713 

Eleventh District. 

James W. Singleton, D 17.842 

WiUiam H. Edgar, D 12,490 

A. B. Allen 1,765 



278 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Twelfth District. 

William M. Springer, D 17,390 

Isaac L. Morrison, R 14 761 

Hy. M. Miller 1,557 

Thirteenth District. 

Deitrich C. Smith, E 16,433 

Adlai E. Stevenson, G. D 16,115 

Fourteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, R 19.710 

James R. Scott, D 17,734 

Fifteenth District. 

Samnel W. Monlton, D 19,364 

Albert G. Forsythe, G 16,810 

Sixteenth District. 

William A. J, Sparks, D 15,392 

P. E. Hosmer, R 13,921 

G. W. Rutherford 1,331 

Seventeenth District. 

Wm. R. Morrison, D 16.950 

John B. Hay, R 15,986 

Eighteenth District. 

John R. Thomas, R 16,873 

WiUiam Hartzell, D 15,146 

A. B. Roberson 1,002 

Nineteenth District. 

Richard W. Townshend, D 18,021 

Charles W. Pavey, R 14,561 

Samuel E. Flaunagan, G 1,456 

Electors — Garfield. 

George Schneider 318,020 

Ethelbert Callahan 318,031 

Robert T. Lincoln 318,037 

J. M. Smyth 318,033 

James A. Kirk 318,036 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 279 

C. M. Brazee 318,018 

E. E. Logan ; 3i8,(i33 

I. H. Elliott 318,031 

James Goodspeed 318,033 

Alfred Sample 318,027 

S. D. Puterbangh 318,031 

E. C. Humphrey 318,030 

William A. Grimsbaw 318,033 

J. C. McQuigg 318,024 

J. H. Rowell 818,033 

William E. Jewell 318,034 

J. M. Sheets ,. . . 318,030 

James W. Peterson 318,028 

W. T. Norton 318,033 

Oeorge W. Smith. 318,033 

William H. Johnson 317,879 

Hancock. 

William J. Allen 277,314 

James S. Ewing 277,307 

Wilham C. Seipp 277 321 

William J. Hynes 277,311 

E. A. Hoffman, Jr 277,312 

T. B. Coulter 277,313 

Frederick Stahl 277.312 

J. S. Eckles 277,311 

Patrick Healey 277,311 

Louis F. Feihtzfech 277.313 

James W. Butler 277.314 

Wilham G. Ewing 277 313 

Lloyd F. Hamilton 277,312 

Ambrose M. Miller 277,311 

William M. Bandy 277,312 

Eobert L. McKinlay 277,311 

John W. Westcott 277,312 

James M. Dill 277,312 

Monroe C. Crawford 277,313 

George S. Fuhr 277,310 

Edmund D. Youngblood 277,225 

Independent Greenback. 

Alexander Campbell 26.191 

Jesse Harper 20,288 

O. J. Smith 26 358 

B. S. Heath 26,355 



280 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Richard Griffiths 26,329 

E. T. Eeeves 26.347 

J. M. Pratt 26 353 

Simon Elliott 26,354 

Fawcett Dumb 26,354 

Thomas Wolfe 26,354 

J. B. Neyley 26.353 

S. T. Shelton 26 356 

W. L. Oliver 26,354 

A. G. Mantz 26 345 

Frank P. Hobart 26,35a 

William Pitt 26,354 

George Dalby 26,B5a 

W. L. F. Stoddard 26 ^52 

J. A. Clendenning 26,353 

Henry Winter 26,354 

James H. Smith 26,352 

The Prohibitionists had an electoral ticket at this elec- 
tion, which received 440 votes, and also the Anti-Secret 
Society party, which received 153 votee. 



CHAPTER XL. 
ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



How he First Entered the Army in the War for the Union— His Corre- 
spondence With Lee— An Insult to the President and the Nation. 



The name of this distinguished soldier and eminent 
statesman is inseparably connected with the politics of 
Illinois, and while we may not be able to say much that 
is new of him, yet we have collected some matters con- 
nected with his life which should be treasured in a volume 
of this character, and which cannot otherwise be found 
without much research. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 281 

Gen. Grant's native State is Ohio ; he was bom in Cler- 
mont county, in the town of Point Pleasant, April 27, 
1822 ; he was educated at West Point, graduating in 1843 ; 
was second lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry; served in 
the Mexican war, and participated in nearly every battle ; 
was promoted to the rank of captain; he resigned his 
commission in 1854, and took up his residence on a farm 
near St. Louis ; in 1859 he came to Illinois, locating at 
Galena, where he was residing when the war for the Union 
ensued. 

How Gkant Entered the Army. 

Governor Yates, in his last biennial message to the Gen- 
eral Assembly of 1865, thus graphically tells how Gen. 
Grant first entered the service of his country in 1861 : 

"Prominent among the many distinguished names who 
have borne their early commissions from Illinois, I refer, 
with special pride, to the character and priceless services 
to the country of Ulysses S. Grant. In April, 1861, he 
tendered his personal services to me, saying 'that he had 
been the recipient of a military education at West Point, 
and that now, when the country was involved in a war 
for its preservation and safety, he thought it his duty to 
offer his services in defense of the Union, and that he 
would esteem it a privilege to be assigned to any position 
where he could be useful.' The plain, straightforward 
demeanor of the man, and the modesty and earnestness 
which characterized his offer of assistance, at once awak- 
ened a lively interest in him, and impressed me with a 
desire to secure his counsel for the benefit of volunteer 
organizations then forming for Government service. At 
first I assigued him a desk in the Executive office ; and 
his familiarity with military organization and regulations 
made him an invaluable assistant in my own and the 
office of the Adjutant-General. Soon his admirable quali- 
ties as a military commander became apparent, and I 
assigned him to command of the camps of organization 
at 'Camp Yates,' Springfield, 'Camp Grant,' Mattoon, and 
'Camp Douglas,' at Anna, Union county, at which the 
7th, 8th, 9th, 10t;h, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th and 21st regi- 
ments of Illinois Volunteers, raised under the call of the 



282 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

President of the 15th of April, and under the 'Ten Regi- 
ment Bill,' of the extraordinary session of the Legislature, 
convened April 23, 1861, were rendezvoused. His employ- 
ment had special reference to the organization and muster 
of these forces — the first six into United States, and the 
last three into the State service. This was accomplished 
about the 10th of May, 1861, at which time he left the 
State for a brief period, on a visit to his father, at Cov- 
ington, Kentucky. , 

" The 21st regiment of Illinois volunteers, raised in 
Macon, Cumberland, Piatt, Douglas, Moultrie, Edgar, 
Clay, Clark, Crawford and Jasper counties, for thirty-day 
State service, organized at the camp at Mattoon, prepar- 
atory to three years' service for the Government, had 
become very much demoralized, under the thirty days' 
experiment, and doubts arose in relation to their accept- 
ance for a longer period. I was much perplexed to find 
an efficient and experienced officer to assume command 
of the regiment, and take it into the three years' service. 
I ordered the regiment to Camp Yates, and after consult- 
ing Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, who had many friernils in the 
regiment, and Col. John S. Loomis, Assistant Adjutant- 
General, who was at the time in charge of the Adjutant- 
General's office, and on terms of personal intimacy with 
Grant, I decided to offer the command to him, and accord- 
ingly telegraphed Captain Grant, at Covington, Kentucky, 
tendering him the Colonelcy. He immediately reported, 
accepting the commission, taking rank as Colonel of that 
regiment from the 15th day of June, 1861. Thirty days 
previous to that time the regiment numbered over one 
thousand men, but in consequence of laxity in discipline 
of the first commanding officer, and other discouraging 
obstacles connected with the acceptance of troops at that 
time, but six hundred and three men were found willing 
to enter the three years' service. In less than ten days 
Col. Grant filled the regiment to the maximum standard, 
and brought it to a state of discipline seldom attained in 
the volunteer service, in so short a time. His was the 
only regiment that left the camp of organization on foot. 
He marched from Springfield to the Illinois river, but, in 
an emergency requiring tiroops to operate against Missouri 
rebels, the regiment was transported, by rail, to Quincy, 
and Col. Grant was assigned to the command for the pro- 
tection of the Quincy and Palmyra and Hannibal and St. 
Joseph railroads. He soon distinguished himself as a regi- 
mental commander in the field, and his claims for increased 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 283 

lank were recognized by his friends in Springfield, and his 
promotion insisted upon before his merits and services 
were fairly understood at Washington. His promotion 
was made upon the ground of his military education, 
fifteen years' services as a Lieutenant and Captain in the 
regular army (during which time he was distinguished in 
the Mexican war), his great success in organizing and 
disciplming his regiment, and for his energetic and vigor- 
ous prosecution of the campaign in North Missouri, and 
the earnestness with which he entered into the great work 
of waging war against the traitorous enemies of his coun- 
try. His first great battle was at Belmont, an engage- 
ment which became necessary to protect our southwestern 
army in Missouri from overwhelming forces being rapidly 
consolidated against it from Arkansas, Tennessee and 
Columbus, Kentucky. The struggle was a desperate one, 
but the tenacity and soldierly qualities of Grant and his 
invincible little army gave us the first practical victory 
in the West. The balance of his shining record is indeh- 
bly written in the history of Henry, Donelson, Shiloh, 
Corinth, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, seige of 
Richmond, and the intricate and difficult command as 
Lieutenant-General of the armies of the Union — written in the 
blood and sacrifices of the heroic braves who have fallen, 
while following him to glorious victory — written upon the 
hearts and memories of the loyal millions who are at the 
hearthstones of our gallant and unconquerable 'Boys in 
Blue.' The impress of his genius stamps our armies, from 
one end of the Eepublic to the other ; and the secret of his 
success in executing his plans, is in the love, enthusiasm 
and confidence he inspires in the soldier in the ranks, 
the harmony and respect of his subordinate officers, his 
own respect for and deference to the wishes and com- 
mands of the President, and his sympathy with the Gov- 
ernment in its war policy. 

"As evidence of the materials of the State of Illinois 
for war purposes, at the beginning of the war, and a pleas- 
ing incident of Grant's career, I refer to an article in the 
Vicksburg paper, the 'Weekly Sun,' of May 13, 1861, which 
ridicules our enfeebled and unprepared condition, and says : 
*An official repoi-t made to Governor Yates, of Illinois, by 
one CajDtain Grant, says that after examining all the State 
armories, he finds the muskets amount to just nine hun- 
dred and four, and of them only sixty in servicable con- 
dition.' Now the name of that man, who was looking up 



284 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the rusty muskets in Illinois, is glory-crowned with shin- 
ing victories, and will fill thousands of history's brightest 
pages to the end of time. I iinow well the secret of his 
power, for afterwards, when I saw him at headquarters, 
upon the march, and on the battle field, in his plain, 
thread-bare uniform, modest in his deportment, careful of 
the wants of the humblest soldier, personally inspecting 
all the dispositions and divisions of his army, calm and 
courageous amidst the most destructive fire of the enemy, 
it was evident that he had the confidence of every man, 
from the highest officer down to the humblest drummer 
boy in his whole command. His generalship rivals that 
of Alexander and Napoleon, and his armies eclipse those 
of Greece and Rome in their proudest days of imperial 
grandeur. He is a gift of the Almighty Father to the 
Nation, in its extremity, and he has won his way to the 
exalted position he occupies through his own great perse- 
verance, skill and indomitable bravery." 

His Correspondence with Lee. 

The following is the correspondence between Gen. Grant 
and Gen. Lee, relating to the surrender of Lee's army. 

"April 7, 1865. 

"General — The result of the last week must convince 
you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the parb 
of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel 
it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself 
the responsil)ility of the further etfusioa of blood, by ask- 
ing of you the surrender of that portion of the army of 
the Confederate States, known as the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

"U. S. Grant, 
"Gen. E. E. Lee." "Lieutenant-General." 

" April 7, 1865. 

"General — I have received your note of this date. 
Though not entertaining the opinion you express on the 
hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army 
of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid use- 
less effusion of blood, and, therefore, before considering 
your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condi- 
tion of its surrender. 

"E. E. Lee, 
" Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant." "General." 



politics and politicians of illinois. 285 

"April 8, 1865. 
" General — Your note of last evening in answer to 
mine of same date, asking on wliat terms I will accept 
the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just 
received. In reply, I would say, that peace being my great 
desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon, 
namely, that the men and officers surrendered shall be 
disqualified from taking up arms against the government 
of the United States until properly exchanged. I will 
meet you, or will designate officers to meet any ofiicers 
you may name for the same purpose, at any point agree- 
able to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the 
terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia will be received. 

"U. S. Grant, 
"B. E. Lee, General." "Lieutenant-General." 

"April, 8, 1865. 
"General — I received, at a late hour, your note of 
to day. In mine, of yesterday, I did not intend to pro- 
pose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to 
ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think 
the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this 
army; but as the restoration of peace should be the sole 
object of all, I desired to know whether your proposals 
would lead to that end. I can not, therefore, meet you 
with a view to the surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia ; but as far as your proposal may affect the Con- 
federate forces under my command, and tend to the res- 
toration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 
a. m.' to-morrow, on the old stage-road to Eichmond, be- 
tween the picket lines of the two armies. 

"K. E. Lee, 
"U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General." "General." 

"April 9, 1865. 
"General — ^Your note of yesterday is received. I have 
no authority to treat on the subject of peace. The meet- 
ing proposed for 10 a. m. could do no good. I will state, 
however, General, that I am equally anxious for peace 
with yourself, and the whole North entertains the same 
feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had, are 
well understood. By the South laying down their arms, 
they will hasten that must desirable event, save thousands 
of human lives and hundreds of millions of property not 



286 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

yet destroyed. Seriously hoping that all our difficulties 
may be settled without the loss of another life, I subscribe 
myself, etc. 

"U. S. Grant, 
"E. E. Lee, General." "Lieutenant-General." 

"Apkil 9, 1865. 

"General — I received your note of this morning, on 
the picket line, whither I had come to meet you, and 
ascertain detinitely what terms were embraced in your 
proposal of yesterday, with reference to the surrender of 
this army. I now ask an interview in accordance with 
the offer contained in your letter of yesterday, for that 
purpose. 

"E. E. Lee, 
"Lieutenant-General Grant." "General." 

"Appomattox Court House, Va., April 9, 1865. 

"General — In accordance with the substance of my 
letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the 
surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the fol- 
lowing terms, to-wit : Eolls of all the otiicers and men to be 
made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer to 
be designated by me, the other to be retained by such 
officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to 
give their individual paroles not to take up arms against 
the government of the United States until properly ex- 
changed ; and each company or regimental commander 
sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The 
arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and 
stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me 
to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of 
the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This 
done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to 
his home, not to be disturbed by the United States' 
authority as long as they observe their paroles and the 
laws in force where they may reside. 

"U. S. Grant, 
"General E. E. Lee." "Lieutenant-General." 

"Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, 

"April 9, 1865. 
"General — I received your letter of this date contain- 
ing the terms of the surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 287 

the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th in- 
stant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the 
proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. 

"E. E. Lee, 
"Lieutenant-General Grant." "General." 

General Grant closed his final report on the conduct 

of the war, in these words : 

"It has been my fortune to see the armies of both the 
West and East fight battles, and from what I have seen 
I know there is no difference in their fighting qualities. 
All that it was possible for men to do in battle, they have 
done. The Western armies commenced their battles in 
the Mississippi Valley, and received the final surrender of 
the remnant of the principal army opposed to them in 
North Carolina. The armies of the East commenced their 
battles on the river from which the Array of the Potomac 
derived its name, and received the final surrender of their 
old antagonist at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The 
splendid achievements of each have nationalized our vic- 
tories, removed all sectional jealousies (of which we have 
unfortunately experienced too much), and the cause of 
crimination and recrimination that might have followed, 
had either section failed in its duty. All have a proud 
record, and all sections can well congratulate themselves 
and each other for having done their full share in restor- 
ing the supremacy of law over every foot of territory 
belonging to the United States. Let them hope for per- 
petual peace and harmony with that enemy whose man- 
hood, however mistaken the cause, drew forth such 
herculean deeds of valor." 

An Insult to the Nation and the President. 

During President Grant's second administration, there 
was a concerted effort upon the part of his personal 
and political enemies to bring his name into utter 
disgrace. We refer to the sad spectacle of a causeless 
attempt to connect the name of this grand man and great 
soldier, criminally with the whisky-frauds of the country. 
In 1875, when the great frauds of the Whisky Eing of the 
United States culminated in a complete expose, men very 
close to the administration of President Grant, and high in 



288 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

authority, were arrested and tried as conspirators in the 
crimes committed by that ring, and a few men in the coun- 
try hoped it would be shown in the investigation that 
followed that the President himself would be found to be 
connected in some way with the frauds which would result 
in his impeachment ; but no sooner had the designs of his 
enemies been made known to him, than this brave, silent 
man sent forth the official direction that there should be 
the most thorough investigation of the charges against the 
men who had been implicated in the whisky-frauds, and 
to let no guilty man escape, no matter how close he might 
claim to be to the administration. The trial of these men, 
as most of our readers know, was of the most searching 
character, and while the guilty were punished, it was evi- 
dent that President Grant had been made the subject of 
the most wicked and foul conspiracy that had ever been 
attempted upon mortal man, in the very house of his 
friends; but he came out of the trying ordeal like pure 
gold, and the verdict of the people of the whole country 
was that he was as innocent of any connection with the 
infamy of that ring as the unborn babe. But slander loves 
a shining mark. Gen. Grant had retired from the presi- 
dency, had traveled around the world, and had been 
received by the people and governments of foreign climes 
with far more distinction than any citizen of this country 
who had ever traveled abroad. In his absence, and with- 
out consulting his wishes, his warm political friends con- 
ceived the idea that it would be a fitting tribute to the 
eminent services of the distinguished soldier-citizen to 
again make him President of the United States, and then 
it was that slander raised for the second time its hydra- 
head. John McDonald, who had been severely punished 
for his connection with the whisky-frauds, lent himself to 
certain political leaders in an attempt to break down the 
character of Gen. Grant by resuscitating the whisky trials 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 289 

of St. Louis, into popular book form ; and J. W. Buel, a 
facile and pleasing writer, was employed to do the work, 
which he did with a master hand, but utterly regardless 
of the truth of history or the consequences to follow. But 
to the consternation of the political leaders engaged 
in Mr. McDonald's infamous book enterprise. Gen. Grant 
did not receive the Republican nomination for President; 
and although the advent of the book had been extensively 
advertised in all the leading Democratic journals of the 
country, and in many of the Republican papers whose 
editors were opposed to his nomination for a third term, 
by the publication of liberal extracts from the most striking 
features of its pages, it came forth stillborn, and the das- 
tardly slander, intended to destroy the good name of the 
man who had done so much for his country upon the 
field of carnage, and won for it imperishable honors abroad, 
went out like a spark in the ocean. But we can imagine 
nothing so debased in the scale of infamy as an attempt 
to destroy the good name of such a man, a man who 
came from the private walks of life in 1861, and modestly 
offered himself to the Governor of Illinois as a defender 
of his country ; a man who advanced from a clerkship in 
the Adjutant General's ofliee in his State to the proudest 
position in the military arm of his Government; a man 
who advanced to the highest and most exalted civil station 
within the gift of the people, simply by the force of his 
own manly moral character, and without asking or seek- 
ing the advancement ; a man whose hands were known to 
be free from the spoils of office, to be charged with or sus- 
pected of such corruption, is an insult to him and his 
country, for which there can be no adequate atonement. 
God has not allotted to man a life long enough to atone 
for such an offense; for such an indignity; for such a 
crime. 

—19 



290 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER XLI. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1881. 



Governor — Shelby M. CuUom. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John M. Hamilton. 

Secretary of State — Henry D. Dement. 

Auditor of Pubhc Accounts— Chas. P. Swigert. 

Treasurer — Edward Piutz. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — James P. Slade. 

Attorney-General — James McCartney. 

Thikty-second Genekal Assembly. 
The Thirty-second General Assembly convened January 
5, and adjourned May 30, sine die. It was composed of 
the following members. 

Senate. 



Geo. E. White, Chicago. 
L. D. Condee, Chicago. 
Sylvester Artley, Chicago. 
Chris. Mamer, Chicago. 
Fred. C. DeLang, Chicago. 
Geo. E. Adams, Chicago. 
W. J. Campbell, Chicago. 
George Kirk, Waukegan. 
Chas. E. Fuller, Belvidere. 
D. H. Sunderland, Freeport. 
Charles Bent, Morrison. 
Isaac Kice, Mt. Morris. 
J. E. Marshall, Yorkville. 
Henry H. Evans, Aurora. 
S. AV. Munn, Joliet. 
Conrad Secrest, Watseka. 
Sam'l R. Lewis, Ottawa. 
Geo. Torrance, Chatsworth. 
L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 
Thomas. M. Shaw, Lacon. 
Milton M. Ford, Galva. 



A. W. Berggren, Galesburg. 
Wm. H. Neece, Macomb. 
John Fletcher, Carthage. 
Meredith Walker, Canton, 
Andrew J. Bell, Peoria. 
Abram Maytield, Lincoln. 
Jos, W. Filer, Bloomington. 
Wm. T. Moffett, Decatur. 
Jas, S. Wright, Champaign. 
George Hunt, Paris. 
Horace S, Clark, Mattoon. 
E. N. Rinehart, Effingham. 
W. T. Vandeveer, Taylorville. 
Wm, E. Shutt, Springfield. 
Ed. Laning, Petersburg. 
Maurice Kelly, Liberty. 
Wm. E. Archer, Pittstield. 
W. P. Callon, Jacksonville. 
C. A. Walker, Carlinville. 
A. J. Parkinson, Highland. 
T. B. Needles, Nashville. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



291 



Thos. E. Merritt, Salem. Louis Ihorn, Harrisonville. 
John K. Tanner, Louisville. John Thomas, Belleville. 
Wm. C. Wilson, Piobinson. W. A. Lemma, Carbondale. 
J. C. Edwards, McLeansboro. A. J. Kuykendall, Vienna. 
S. L. Cheaney, Harris burg. 

House of Eepkesentatives. 



David Sullivan, Chicago. 
Addis L. Kockwell, Chicago. 
M. E. Harris, Chicogo, 
John E. Cook, Chicago. 
Eandall H. White, Chicago. 
Orrin S. Cook, Chicago. 
Thomas Cloonan, Chicago. 
George W. Kroll, Chicago. 
Jos. E. Gorman, Chicago. 
P. J. McMahon, Chicago. 
John L. Parish, Chicago. 
Eobert N. Pierson, Chicago. 
Wm. A. Phelps, Chicago. 
Thos. H. McKone, Chicago. 
S. D. Mieroslawski, Chicago. 
Austin 0. Sexton, Chicago. 
Horace H. Thomas, Chicago. 
Nathan Plotke, Chicago. 
Geo. G. Struckman, Elgin. 
L. C. Collins, Jr., Chicago. 
B. F. Weber, Chicago. 
Orson C. Diggins, Harvard. 
Jas. Thompson, Harvard. 
James Pollock, Millburn. 
Ed. B. Sumner, Eockford. 
0. H. Wright, Belvidere, 
L. McDonald, Pecatonica. 
William Cox, Winslow. 
E. L. Cronkrite, Freeport. 
James Bayne, Warren. 
Wm. H. Allen, Erie. 
Emanuel Stover, Lanark. 
Henry Bitner, Mt. Carroll. 
Frank N. Tice, Forreston. 
Alex. P. Dysart, Nachusa. 
A. F. Brown, Stillman Valley. 
Henry Wood, Sycamore. 
Hiram Loucks, Somonauk. 



John Clark, Somonauk. 
Oliver P. Chisholm, Elgin. 
Jas. Herrington, Geneva. 
Jas. G. Wright, Naperville. 

E. B. Shumway, Peotone. 
Michael Collins, Peotone. 
Harvey Stratton, Piainfield. 
Geo. B. Winter, Onarga. 
James Chatfield, Momence. 
Edward Eumley, Oilman. 
Alex. Vaughey, Seneca. 
Isaac Ames, Streator. 

F. M. Eobinson, Seneca. 
J. H. Collier, Gibson City. 
A. H. Goodspeed, Odell. 
Leander L. Green, Odell. 
John H. Welsh, Tiskilwa. 
S. F. Otman, Wyoming. 
Charles Baldwin, Princeton. 
Euclid Martin, Minonk. 

C. Stowell, LaPrairie Centre. 
Jas. T. Thornton, Magnolia. 
A. E. Mock, Cambridge. 
J. W. Simonson, Port Byron. 
Patrick O'Mara, Eock Island. 
Martin A. Boyd, Aledo. 
A. P. Petrie, New Windsor. 
Hannibal. P. Wood, Wataga. 
Wm. C. McLeod, Macomb. 
S. B. Davis, Blandinville. 
Daniel D. Parry, Monmouth. 
E. A. McKinley, Biggsville. 
H. M. Whiteman, Biggsville. 
James Peterson, Oquawka. 
Joseph L. McCune, Ipava. 
Wm. C. Eeno, Browning. 
Inmon Blackaby, Civer. 
Jos. Gallup, Lawn Eidge. 



292 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



David Heryer, Brimfield. 
J. M, Niebaus, Peoria. 
John H. Ci'andall, Morton. 
W. B. Harvey, Washington. 
Allen Lucas, Mt. Puhisld. 
William Hill, Bloomington. 
Geo. B. Okeson, Lexington. 
T. 1<\ Mitchell, Bloomington. 
L. Ludingtou, Farmer City. 
Jason Eogers, Decatur. 
B. K. Durfee, Decatur. 
Chas. F. Tenney, Bement. 
Ashbel H. Bailev, Rantoul. 
H. D. Peters, Monticello. 
Joseph B. Mann, Danville. 
BradJey Butterfield, Kankin. 
John G. Holden, Danville. 
Thomas E, Bandy, Tuscola. 
J. W. B. Morgan, Sullivan. 
E gene B. Buck, Charleston. 
Geo. D. Chafee, Shelbyville. 
A, C. Campbell, Moweaqua. 
F. M. Bichardbon, Neoga. 
E. McWidiams, Litchfield. 
Geo. B. Sharp, Sharpsburg. 
Geo W. Pa'sley, Hillsboro. 
A. N. J. Crook, Springfield. 
DeWitt W. Smith, Bates. 
Jas. M. Garland, Springfield. 
L. C. Chandler, Chandlerv'le. 
Wm. M. Duffy. San Jose. 
J. H. Shaw, Beardstown. 
Joseph N. Carter, Quincy. 
John McAdams, Ur^a. 
Wm. A.. Richaidson, Quincy. 
J. L. Underwood, Barry. 
Wm. Mortland. Hardin. 
S. R. Powell. Winchester. 
Oman Pierson, Carrollton. 

Lieutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton presided over 

the Senate. William J. Campbell, of Cook, was elected 

President pro lempore, over Wm. P. Callon, of Morgan, 

by a vote of 33 to 28, and James H. Paddock, Secretary, 

over T. W. S. Kidd, by a vote of 35 to 16. 



Oliver Coultas, Lynnville. 
Joseph S. Carr, Kane. 
Balfour Cowen, Virden. 
J. N. English, Sr., Jerseyv'le. 
A. N. Yancy, Bunker Hill. 
Henry 0. Billings, Alton. 
John M. Pearson, Godfrey. 
Jones Tontz, Grant Fork. 
Fred. Becker, Germantown. 
John L. Nichols, Clement. 

E. H. Simmons, Greenville. 
Iverson M. Little, Vera. 
D. W. Andrews, Centralia. 
Mancil A. Harris, Ramsey. 
Nathan Crews, Fairfield. 
James Keen, Six Mile. 
Ezra B. Keene, Keensburg. 
Jacob C. Olwin, Robinson. 
James C. Bryan, Marshall. 
W. H. H. Mieure, L'wr'ncev'le 
C. T. Strattan, Mt. Vernon. 
Samuel M. Martin, Carmi. 
R. A. D. Wilbanks, Mt. V'rn'n. 
Milo Erwin, Crab Orchard. 

F. M. Youngblood, Benton. 
Jas. M. Gregg, Harrisburg. 
Isaac M. Kelly, DuQuoin. 
W. K. Murphy, Pinckneyv'le. 
Austin James, Mitchie. 
John N. Perrin, Belleville. 
P. H. Postel, Mascoutah. 
Joseph Veile, Mihstadt. 
Harmon H. Black, Cairo. 
David T. Linegar, Cairo. 
H. R. Buckingham, Alto Pass. 
Wdliam A. Spann, Vienna. 
W. S. Morris, Elizabethtown. 
John D. Young, Pellona. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 293 

In the House, Horace H. Thomas, of Cook, was elected 
Speaker over Bradford K. Durfee, of Macon, by a vote of 
81 to 71, and W. B. Taylor, of Marshall, Clerk, over 
Will A. Connelly, of Sangamon, by a vote of 81 to 71. 

The message of the Governor was read m the two 
houses on the 7th of January. The Canal, Illinois Na- 
tional Guard, Agriculture, State Board of Health, Char- 
itable Institutions, Apportionment, State Library, Douglas 
Monument, and ilevenue, were subjects which were dis- 
cussed at some length, and the usual recommendations 
as to proper subjects of legislation were indulged in. 

Exclusive of the appropriation acts, laws were passed 
to prevent the spread of pleuro-pneumonia among cattle ; 
to amend an act to consolidate the offices of county treas- 
urer and county assessor; to regulate the traffic in deadly 
weapons and prevent their sale to minors ; to prevent the 
adulteration of butter and cheese; to prevent the adul- 
teration of articles of food, drink or medicine ; to fix the 
times of election of county officers and their tenure; to 
amend the insurance laws ; to define legal holidays ; to reg- 
ulate the practice of pharmacy; to require officers having 
in their custody public funds to prepare and publish 
annual statements of the receipts and disbursements; to 
amend the revenue law; to amend the school law; to 
secure equality in the matter of admitting patients into 
hospitals for the insane, and to provide for the transfer 
of patients from one hospital to another. 

Special Session. 

The Governor convened this General Assembly in spe- 
cial session March 23, 1882, for the purpose of passing 
laws apportioning the State into Congressional and Sena- 
torial districts, and for other purposes. The duration of 
this session was 44 days. 



294 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 



CHATPER XLII. 
0, H, BROWNING. 



Unpublished Correspondence between Browning and Lincoln— Browning's 
Personal Friendship for Lincoln, and his Absolute Loyalty to his Gov- 
ernment. 



When Senator Douglas died, the Democracy made an 
effort to have W. A. Eichardson, then a member of Con- 
gress from the Quincy district, appointed to succeed him, 
but Governor Yates chose to fill the vacancy by the selec- 
tion of 0. H. Browning, of the same city, and the wisdom 
of the choice was soon made apparent, for Eichardson 
came out as an anti-war man, while Browning never 
wavered for a moment in loyalty to his country's flag, 
but if anything, he was somewhat in advance of the Presi- 
dent upon the question of freeing the slaves, for when the 
proclamation of Gen. Fremont, in Missouri, in 1861, which 
declared the slaves of disloyal men free, was revoked, Mr. 
Browning was deeply concerned over the matter, and wrote 
Mr. Lincoln an earnest letter protesting against his action, 
and because of this Mr. Browning was charged with giving 
Mr. Lincoln only a half-hearted support in his efforts 
to overthrow armed treason ; and the great injustice was 
never broadly denied until after his death, and this was 
on the occasion of the memorial address of Judge C. B. 
Lawrence before the Illinois Bar Association, at Spring- 
field, in January, 1882, when he read the reply of the 
President to that letter, and Mr. Browning's reply, which 
had not before been made public. We reproduce Mr. 






/7>^/^ 





POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 295 

Lincoln's letter in full, and Mr. Browning's reply, omit- 
ting that portion of it which discusses the merits of the 
case, which can have no interest at this time : 

" Executive Mansion, 
"Washington, September 22, 1861. 
" Hon. 0. H, Browning : 

" My Dear Sir — Yours of the 17th is just received, and, 
coming from you, I confess it astonishes me. That you 
should object to my adhering to a law which you had 
assisted in making, and presenting to me, less than a 
month before, is odd enough. But this is a very small 
part. General Fremont's proclamation, as to confiscation 
of property, and the liberation of slaves, is purely politi- 
cal, and not within the range of military law or necessity. 
If a commanding General finds a necessity to seize the 
farm of a private owner, for a pasture, an encampment, 
or a fortification, he has the right to do so, and to so 
hold it as long as the necessity lasts; and this is within 
military law, because within military necessity. But 
to say the farm shall no longer belong to the owner, 
or his heirs, forever, and this, as well when the farm is 
not needed for military purposes as when it is, is purely 
political, without the savor of military law about it. And 
the same is true of slaves. If the General needs them, 
he can seize them and use them, but when the need is 
past, it is not for him to fix their permanent future con- 
dition. That must be settled according to the laws made 
by law-makers, and not by military proclamations. The 
proclamation, in the point in question, is simply 'dicta- 
torship.' It assumes that the General may do any thing 
he pleases, confiscate the lands and free the slaves of 
loyal people, as well as disloyal ones. And going the 
whole figure, I have no doubt, would be more popular 
with some thoughtless people, than that which has been 
done. But I cannot assume this reckless position; nor 
allow others to assume it on my responsibility. 

"You speak of it as being the only means of saving the 
Government. On the contrary, it is the surrender of the 
Government. Can it be pretended that it is any longer 
the Government of the United States — any Government 
of Constitution and Laws — wherein a General or a Presi- 
dent may make permanent rules of property by procla- 
mation. 



296 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

" I do not say Congress might not, with propriety, pass 
a law on the point just such as Gen. Fremont proclaimed. 
I do not say I might not, as a member of Congress, vote 
for it. What I object to is that I, as President, shall 
expressly or impliedly seize and exercise the permanent 
legislative functions of the Government. 

'* GO much as to principle. Now as to policy. No doubt 
the thing was popular in some quarters, and would have 
been more so if it had been a general declaration of eman- 
cipation. The Kentucky Legislature would not budge till 
tljat proclamation was modilied, and Gen. Anderson tele- 
graphed me that on the news of Gen. Fremont having 
actually issued deeds of manumission, a whole company 
of volunteers threw down their arms and disbanded. 1 was 
so assured as to think it probable that the very arms we 
had furnished Kentucky would be turned against us. I 
tiiink to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the 
whole game. Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, 
nor, as I think, Maryland. These all against us, and the 
job on our hands is too much for us. We might as well 
consent to separation at once, including the surrender of 
this capital. On the contrary, if you will give up your 
restlessness for new positions, and back me manfully on 
the grounds upon which you and other kind friends gave 
me the election, and have approved in my public docu- 
ments, we shall go through trmmphantly. 

" You must not understand 1 took my course on the 
proclamation because of Kentucky. 1 took the same ground 
in a private letter to Gen. Fremont before I heard from 
Kentucky. You think I am inconsistent because I did 
not also forbid Gen. Fremont to shoot men under the 
proclamation. 

" I understand that part to be within military law, but 
I also think, and so privately wrote Gen. Fremont, that 
it is impoliiic in this, that our adversaries have the power, 
and will certainly exercise it, to shoot as many of our men 
as we shoot of theirs. I did not say this in the public 
letter, because it is a subject I prefer not to discuss in 
the hearing of our enemies. 

" There has been no thought of removing Gen. Fremont 
on any grounds connected with this proclamation ; and if 
there has been any wish for his removal on any ground, 
oor mutual friend, Samuel Glover, can probably tell you 
what it was. I hope no real necessity for it exists on any 
ground. " Your friend as ever, 

"A. Lincoln." 



politics and politicians of illinois. 297 

Mr. Browning's Eeply. 

" QuiNCY, III., Sept. 30, 1861. 

"Mr. President — Yours of the 22d inst. is before me. 
Fully aware of tLe multitude and magnitude of your 
engagements, I certainly did not expect a moment of your 
valuable time to be consumed in replying to any commu- 
nication of mine, but am very greatly obliged to you for 
ha\ing done so. 

" Occasionally, since the beginning of our troubles, I 
have taken the liberty of writing you and giving my 
opinions, valueless as they may be, upon the great ques- 
tions which agitate the nation, and which we are bound, 
however difficult and distressing they may be, in some 
way or other to solve. I have also, from time to time, 
endeavored to give you a true reflection of public senti- 
ment, so far as it was known to me. I have been prompted 
to this course by a very sincere interest in your individual 
welfare, fame and fortune, as well as by a painfully intense 
anxiety for the maintenance of the Constitution and the 
Union, the restoration of the just authority of the Govern- 
ment, and the triumph of as holy a cause, in my judg- 
ment, as ever interested men's feelings, and enlisted their 
energies. 

" I thought that whether the public sentiment here and 
my ov\n opinions accorded with yours or not, you might 
still be not only willing but glad to know them. I have, 
therefore, written to you frankly and candidly, but have 
at all times intended to be both kind and respectlul, and 
I regret it deeply if I have failed m eithn-, as stme pas- 
sages in yours lead me to suspect I have only annuytd 
you. Nothing, I assure you, has been further from my 
purpose, i'uily appreciating the difficultieB and embar- 
rasbments of your position, 1 would be as ready and will- 
ing to aid you by any personal sacrifice I could make, as 
I would be reluctant to add to your harassments, either 
by fault-finding or by solicitations. I have said msaiy 
things to you which I have not said to others. Conscious 
of the great injury our cause would sustain by any weak- 
ening of the confidence of the people in the administration, 
I have constantly % indicated both its men and its meas- 
ures before the public, and when I have had complaints 
or suggestions to make in regaid to either, I have made 
them directly to you. Others have not known of them. 
This, I thought, was demanded alike by the claims of 
friendship and patriotism. 



298 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"What I said in regard to Gen. Fremont and his pro- 
clamation, was in accordance with this feeling. My 
acquaintance with him has been very hmited, and I have 
had no personal feeling in this matter. It' he was honestly 
and faithfully doing his duty, justice to him and regard 
for his country alike required that he should be sustained. 
There was much complaint and clamor against him, and 
as I am not quick to take up evil report, I went twice to 
St. Louis to see and learn for myself all that I could. It 
is very probable he has made some mistakes, but in the 
main he seemed to be taking his measures wisely and well. 
Many of the charges against him appeared to me friv- 
olous, and I did not know of any one who could take his 
position and do better amid the surrounding difficulties, 
and was confident his removal at the time and under the 
circumstances, would be damaging both to the administra- 
tion and the cause. Hence I wrote you, as I thought it 
my duty to do, certainly not intending any impertinent 
interference with executive duties, or expecting what I said 
to have any greater scope than friendly suggestion. . . 

"And now, Mr. President, permit me in conclusion to 
say, in all kindness, that I am not conscious of any 'rest- 
lessness for new positions.' New positions for us are not 
necessary. A firm adherence to old ones is, and this I 
am sure you intend. 

" Thus far I have tried to 'back you manfully, upon the 
grounds upon which you had your election.' 

" It may be that I have done it feebly, but certainly hon- 
estly and earnestly ; and I shall be one of the last to 
falter in support of either our principles or their chosen 
exponent. 

" And I am very sure that neither for yourself nor for 
the country, do you more ardently desire that 'Me shall 
go through triumphantly,' than does your very sincere and 
faithful friend, 0. H. Browning." 

This correspondence cannot fail to demonstrate two 

things, which have not been before well settled in the 

minds of those who have been given to look through the 

vision of prejudice. It shows that, whatever may have 

been the opinion of Mr. Lincoln's enemies, the abolition 

of slavery was not the paramount idea of his nature, but 

that he wished to preserve the Union, and leave the 

question of slavery to adjust itself, as circumstances might 



POLITICS AND POLITICIAKS OF ILLINOIS. 299 

direct. The other thing made plain is, that Mr. Brown- 
ing was never wanting in a proper regard for Mr. Lincoln, 
or in devotion to the union of the States. 

In justification of what we have said regarding the loy- 
alty of Mr. Browning to the administration of Mr. Lin- 
coln, we point to the following extract from a speech made 
by him in the Senate of the United States just prior to 
the resignation of all the Southern Senators : 

" I say it with no passion, Mr. President, but I do say, 
and I think I say it for the entire country, that any man 
or set of men, here or elsewhere, who delude themselves 
with the idea that there is to be now, or at any time 
hereafter, any sort or character of compromise patched 
up with treason, by which the war is to be brought to a 
close, are fatally deceiving themselves. Mr. President, no 
terms can be made now or hereafter. Let the consequences 
of the war be what they may, no terms, now or at any 
time hereafter, can be made with treason and rebellion. 
There are but two alternatives. One is that this Govern- 
ment shall be overthrown and that all hope for Constitu- 
tional Government shall go down ; and the other is that 
rebellion shall be subdued, shall be subjugated, that treason 
shall be punished, and this Government founded upon a 
rock, firmer, faster than it has hitherto been, and upon 
which hereafter all the tempests of insurrection and dis- 
content shall beat in vain." 

After the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, President Johnson 
appointed Mr. Browning Secretary of the Interior, the 
duties of which he discharged with an ability which did 
honor to his name and an integrity that was never 
questioned. The troubles which environed the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Johnson, and the attempt made to remove 
him by impeachment, estranged Mr. Browning from his 
old party associates, and he ceased to act with the Ee- 
publican party. 

Mr. Browning was by birth a Kentuckian, removing to 
Illinois in 1830, locating at Quincy, where he continued to 
reside so long as he lived. He was originally a Whig, 
and living in a strong Democratic district, naturally held 



300 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

but few public trusts. He was elected a Senator in the 
tenth General Assembly, in 1836, and opposed the wild 
legislation on the question of internal improvements of 
that time. In 1843, he was induced to run for Congress 
against Stephen A. Douglas, but owing to the large Dem- 
ocratic majority in the district failed of an election ; and 
his appointment as the successor of Douglas in the United 
States Senate was his next appearance as a public man. 
After his retirement from Johnson's cabinet, in 1869, he 
was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention 
which framed our present Constitution, and to him is due 
many of its wise and excellent provisions. 

Mr. Browning died in August, 1881, in the 75th year of 
his age, and, in closing his admirable address, Mr. Law- 
rence paid this happy and fitting tribute to his memory: 

" The announcement of his death came to the beautiful 
city where he had lived so long, and which he loved so 
well, like a fearful blow. Its most honored citizen had 
gone. For fifty years he had been their trusted leader and 
adviser. For fifty years he had lived among them a life 
which made no man his foe, but all men his friends. For 
fifty years they had listened to his eloquent utterances in 
the courts of justice and on the public platform, m times 
of trouble or when the country was in danger, and they 
had always gained strength and courage from his lips. 
For fifty years he had spoken to them words of wisdom, 
deepening their convictions as to the demands of patriot- 
ism and public duty. For fifty years he had dared to tell 
them the truth, or what he believed to be the truth, even 
when he knew it would cause a fleeting cloud between 
himself and them. For fifty years he had set them the 
example of a noble life. Little wonder that the town 
mourned. 

" The funeral day was appointed. Friends, from far and 
near, came to render their last tribute of respect, and we 
felt, as we laid him away in the sunset of a summer day, 
in a beautiful cemetery on the banks of the Mississippi, 
beneath the shadows of the silent oaks, that a great brain 
and a great heart had done their work, and another tie 
between ourselves and life was broken." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 301 



CHAPTER XLIII. 
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1882. 



The campaign of 1882 was what is commonly denom- 
inated the "off year," and party lines were not so closely 
drawn as in the Presidential years. The Republicans 
nominated John C. Smith for Treasurer, and Charles T. 
Strattan for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The Democrats nominated Alfred Orendorff for Treas- 
urer, and Henry Piaab for Superintendent of Public In- 
struction. 

The Prohibitionists nominated John G. Irwin for Treas- 
urer, and Elizabeth B. Brown for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

The Greenbackers nominated Daniel McLaughlin for 
Treasurer, and J^'rank H. Hall for Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

The aggregate vote of the respective candidates, as 
shown by the canvass made by the General Assembly, was : 

Smith 250,722 

Oiendorff 244,585 

McLaughlin 15,511 

Irwm 11,130 

Smith's plurality 6,137 

Strattan 250,276 

Baab 253 145 

Hall 14,306 

Brown 11,202 

Baab's plurality 2,869 



302 POIilTICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Although Mr. Smith was elected by a plurality of 
6,137, the Democratic candidate for Superintendent of 
Public Instruction was elected over Mr. Strattan by a 
plurality of 2,869. There were three causes which con- 
tributed to the defeat of Mr. Strattan. He had been a 
minority member of the Thirty-second General Assembly, 
and had voted in favor of a bill in which it was pro- 
posed to submit to a vote of the people an amendment 
to the Constitution prohibiting the manufacture or sale 
of spirituous or malt liquors as a beverage. This he had 
a right to do, but it lost him the vote of many German 
Republicans. "While on the other hand the Prohibition 
Republicans were displeased because the Republican State 
Convention had voted down a resolution which proposed 
to allow the people to vote on the question of amending 
the Constitution, as hereinbefore expressed, and they voted 
for Mrs. Brown, as a matter of principle, utterly regard- 
less as to what might be the result of the election. The 
third and last cause was, that very many Republicans 
who were identified with the school interests, assumed 
that Mr, Strattan had not been sufficiently associated with 
the school work, and a large per cent, of them voted for 
Mr. Raab, who was known to have made education his 
study and practice ; and when Mr. Raab was inducted 
into office he recognized the fact that it had not been a 
party victory by appointing W. L. Pillsbury, a Republi- 
can, his assistant. Mr. Pillsbury had held the position 
under Superintendent Slade, and whatever may have been 
the party prejudice to his selection, we doubt if Mr. Raab 
could have made a more fitting appointment. 

The aggregate vote for Congressmen, by districts, is as 
follows : 

Members of Congress — First District. 

Ransom W. Dunham, R 11.571 

John W. Doane, D 10,534 

Alonzo J. Glover 641: 



politics and politicians of illinois. 303 

Second Distbict. 

John F. Finerty, D 9,360 

Henry F. Sheridan 6^939 

J. Altpeter 189 

Sylvester Artley 180 

Third District. 

George E. Davis, R 12,511 

William P. Black 10,274 

Caleb G. Hayman 748 

Q. A. Sprague 3 

Fourth District. 

George E. Adams, E , . . . 11,686 

Lambert Tree 9,446 

Frank P. Crandon 663 

Christian Meyer 128 

Fifth District. 

Eeuben Ellwood, E 12,994 

William Price 5,127 

B. N. Dean 268 

Sixth District. 

Eobert E. Hitt, E 12,725 

James S. Ticknor 9,045 

George W. Curtis 354 

B. F. Sheets 6 

Seventh District. 

Thomas J. Henderson, E 12,751 

Larmou G, Johnson 6,369 

M. B. Lloyd 1,673 

L. G. Morrison 57 

Eighth District. 

William Cullen, E 13,851 

Patrick C. Haley 13,673 

Lewis Steward 917 

Otis Hardy 1,017 

T. W. Band 41 



304 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Ninth District. 

Lewis E. Payson, K 12.619 

E. B. Buck 9 243 

0. W. Barnard 2,138 

Joseph M. McCullough 87 

Tenth District. 

Nicholas E. Worthington, D 13,571 

John H. Lewis, K 13,180 

Matthew H. Mitchell 1,335 

Eleventh District. 

William H. Neece, D 14,604 

Benjamin F. Marsh, E 13,975 

Richard Haney 3,671 

Twelfth District. 

James M. Riggs, D 15,316 

James W. Singleton, Ind. D 11,782 

Philip N. Minier, P 4,130 

Thirteenth District. 

William M. Springer, D 18,360 

Deitrich C. Smith, E 14,042 

H. M. Miller 1,340 

Fourteenth District. 

Jonathan H. Rowell, R 15.273 

Adlai E. Stevenson, D 14,598 

David H. Harts, Ind. R 1,414 

Fifteenth District. 

Joseph G. Cannon, R 15,868 

Andrew J. Hunter, D 14,651 

John C. Barnes 536 

Sixteenth District. 

Aaron Shaw, D 14,557 

E. B. Green, R 13,689 

Daniel B. Tourney 741 



politics and politicians of illinois. ^05 

Seventeenth District. 

Samuel W. Moiilton, D 14.495 

William H. Barlow, E 10.068 

B. W. F. Corley 1,386 

Eighteenth District. 

William B. Morrison, D 14,906 

W. C. Kuetfiier, K 12,561 

Thomas W. Hynes, P 1,069 

Nineteenth District. 

Eichard W. Townshend, D 15.606 

George C. Boss, B 9,930 

Twentieth District. 

John B. Thomas, B 14,504 

William K. Murphy, D 14.113 

J. F. McCartney, Ind 1,016 

O. W. Curtis , 22 



CHAPTER XLIV, 
OFFICIAL VOTE FOR PRESIDENT IN 1880. 



Yote of the States— Number of Electoral Votes of all the States in 1884— 
Official Vote of Illinois for President and State Officers, by Counties- 
Congressional Vote of the State, by Districts, for 18^2— Official Vote of' 
the Senatorial Diatricts, for 1880, in which Senatorial Elections Take. 
Place in 1884. 



Presidential Vote of 1880 — Electoral Vote of 1884. 

The following table shows the result of the Presidential 
vote of all the States in 1880, and the number of electoral 
votes each State will be entitled to in 1884: 
—20 



306 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



States. 


1 

2 


c5 

1 

o 
o 
o 

a 
a 

K 


I 

> 




:3 oc 




Gt. 


H. 


ID 




56, 178 

41,661 

80,348 

27,4.50 

67, 073 

14, 150 

23,654 

52,648 

318,037 

232,164 

183,904 

121,520 

104,550 

31,891 

74,039 

78.575 

165.205 

185, 190 

93,903 

34.8.54 

153,567 

54.979 

8.7.32 

44.852 

120.555 

555.544 

115,878 

375.048 

20,619 

444,704 

18.195 

58.071 

107,677 

57.845 

45, 090 

84.020 

46.243 

144,397 

4.442.950 

915 


90.687 

60,489 

80. 426 

24, 647 

64,417 

15, 183 

27,964 

102. 522 

277,321 

225.528 

105.845 

59.789 

147, 999 

65.310 

65,171 

93, 706 

111.960 

131.300 

58,315 

75,750 

208.600 

28,523 

9.611 

40.794 

122,565 

534,511 

124,204 

340,821 

19,948 

407,428 

10,779 

112.312 

128,191 

156.228 

18,181 

127,976 

57,391 

114, 634 


4.642 




10 
6 
5 

"3 
4 
11 

' '12 

8 

■"8 

'"8 
15 

■"'3 

■"9 

'"io 

■"7 
12 

8 

"ii 
5 

155 


la 


Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 


4.079 .... 

3.392i 1 

1,435' 3 

t6^ 6 


7 
s 
3 




6 


Delaware 

Florida 




.... 


3 
4 


Geo rgi a 


481 
26,358 
12.986 
32,327 
19,710 
11,498 


■'21 

15 

11 

5 


12 

22 




15 




la 




9 




13 




8 




4,408 
818 

4,548 
34,795 

3,267 

5,797 
35.045 

3,853 

528 

2.617 


7 

"13 
11 

5 

■"'3 
■"5 


6 




8 




14 




13 




7 




9 




16 




5 




a 




4 




9 




12.372: 35 

1,136 ... 

6. 456 22 

249 3 

20, 668 29 

236 4 

5661.... 

5,916 .... 

27.405.... 


36 




11 


Ohio 


2;^ 




3 




30 




4 




9 




12 




13 




1,212 

139 

9,079 

7,980 


5 

"io 


4 




12 




6 




11 






Total 


4,442,035 


306,867 
Majority 


211 

59 


401 













Vote of Illinois. 

The following table shows the official vote of Illinois 
for 1880, as printed and published under the authority of 
the Secretary of State. We give the vote by counties for 
President and for the three opposing candidates for Gov- 
lernor, and the aggregate vote of the candidates of the 
; respective parties for aU the State officers voted for at that 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



307 



election, — the vote for President and Governor being 
deemed all the reader could desire for purposes of refer- 
ence or comparison. 



Counties. 



Pbeslden 


•2. 


G 












, 


t^ 


a? 


1^ 


d 


Xl 


1 


JS 


'S 


a 


o 




0-3 


a; =3 


9 






S 


O 


w 


^ 


OQ 



GOTERNOE. 



Adams 

Alexander. . 

Bond 

Boone 

Brown 

Bureau 

Calhoun 

Carroll 

Cass 

Champaign.. 

Christian 

Clark 

Clay 

Clinton 

Coles 

Cook 

Crawford 

Cumberland. 

DeKalb 

DeWitt 

Douglas 

DuPage 

Edgar 

Edwards 

Etfiugham... 

Fayette 

Ford 

Franklin 

Fulton 

Gallatin 

Greene 

Grundy 

Hamilton 

Hancock 

Hardin 

Henderson... 

Henry 

Iroquois 

Jackson 

Jasper 

Jefferson 

Jersey 

Jo Daviess. .. 

Johnson 

Kane 

Kankakee 

Kendall 

Knox 

Lake 

LaSalle 

Lawrence 



4.087 


6.113 


608 


1,570 


1.353 


4b 


1,711 


1,273 


108 


2, (Kit 


351 


8-1 


1,008 


1,655 


15S 


4, 099 


2,655 


32f 


505 


946 


22 


2,39t) 


960 


15-1 


1, 2ii2 


1,778 


224 


4, 720 


3,472 


566 


2,087 


3,446 


194 


],9i>S 


2,374 


337 


1,555 


1, 660 


135 


1,578 


2, 242 


116 


2,991 


2, 905 


141 


54,816 


44,302 


1,168 


1.541 


1,917 


24 


1,305 


1,56:3 


92 


4. 124 


1,578 


104 


2,011 


1.845 


168 


1.918 


1,089 


65 


2.0-27 


1.229 


16 


2,834 


2,989 


127 


1,777 


575 


10 


1,301 


2,452 


loo 


2,13(5 


2,633 


207 


1,857 


780 


455 


1,286 


1,610 


283 


4,168 


4.718 


553 


1,050 


1.574 


20 


1,865 


3,160 


49 


2,087 


1,135 


202 


1,002 


1.760 


499 


3,610 


3,957 


274 


484 


765 


10 


1,279 


923 


152 


4,469 


2, 061 


73(» 


4.128 


2,738 


443 


2. 152 


2, 160 


493 


1,194 


1.761 


88 


1,700 


2.304 


311 


1,348 


2.107 


123 


2,994 


2,363 


168 


1,521 


893 


17U 


6. 180 


2,831 


410 


3.201 


1.640 


107 


1.954 


679 


233 


4.863 


2.392 


869 


2.8841 


1,494 


59 


6.941 


6.308 


892 


l,492l 


1,4971 


39 



4,969 
1. 573 
1.709 
2. 024 

995 
4, 062 

493 
2.381 
1.236 
4. 093 
2.701 
2,021 
1.550 
1.562 
2. 994 
53, 899 
1,540 
1,366 
4, 103 
2,010 
1,918 
2.322 
2,830 
1,176 
1,347 
2,132 
1,792 
1,263 
4,127 
1,052 
1.871 
2,009 

979 
3, 602 

482 
1,266 
4, 400 
4,103 
2, 006 
1,195 
1,703 
1.327 
2, 975 
1,513 
6,111 
3,194| 
1,936 
4,746 
2,844 
6,750 
1,488 



6. 103 


619 


i,;i5( 


50 


1, 272 


108 


351 


98 


I,6;{5 


170 


2, 63^ 


380 


95( 


23 


971 


154 


1,757 


267 


3,481 


588 


3, 3'Mj 


195 


2.362 


;W7 


1,655 


146 


2, 232 


144 


2. 897 


143 


44,657 


1.235 


1.920 


23 


1,570 


85 


1,588 


121 


1,837 


182 


1,683 


72 


1.238 


18 


3, 004 


125 


578 


10 


2.454 


118 


2.626 


207 


724 


590 


1.595 


316 


4.698 


559 


1,567 


18 


3. 143 


50 


1,159 


245 


1,732 


538 


3,954 


284 


761 


10 


878 


209 


1,897 


966 


2.667 


537 


2. 150 


551 


1.741 


94 


2.302 


312 


2.098 


149 


2,369 


195 


875 


191 


2,845 


425 


1,638 


114 


()S2 


2:37 


2.361 


981 


1,518 


61 


6,324 


1.061 


1,502 


38 



808 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Official Vote — Continued. 





Peesident. 


G 


CV. KNOR. 


CC UNTIES, 


3 

O 


J3 


03 

>-, 
<D 
.O 

a 

wo 

^^ 

0) CO 


1 


"3 
a 


t 

"3 

.a 

a 

a 

u 
H 

)4 


I 

ID 


Lee 


3, 3,59 
3,771 
2.729 
3.447 
3 901 
5. 024 
2.060 
1.68) 
1.616 

1. 184 
3.014 
3,516 
7,3!7 

994 
2.348 
1.172 
2.702 
3. 1!I9 
l.tW 
4.0.54 
5,105 
1,751 
1,8.55 
2.9(i8 
1..5(il 
1,174 

701 
2,70.-, 
1.628 
4. 025 
1.4SX 
5,476 
1..520 
1,('35 
2,017 
l.:W2 
5.847 
3..5.S1 
2.919 
1.139 
4, 982 

9 '9 
2.840 
2.2K(i 

2, OCX 

1.811 
3,918 
5,776 
1.8,53 
4.617 
2.007 

31'<,8:i7 
40.716 


2,242 
2,861 
2. 6.S7 
3, 069 
4.341 
4.677 
2. .507 
l,(;o3 
1.926 
778 
2.877 
1.799 
5.202 

i,47:i 

1.487 
1.712 
3, 173 
3. 4.52 
1.593 
2. 085 
5. 705 
1..535 
1.578 
3,812 
914 
742 
503 
2.614 
1.736 
2 5(S 
l.(i08 
6.196 
1,937 
1.2'<8 
3.328 
681 
5.877 
.3,071 
3.367 
2.264 
3, 421 
1.142 
2. 003 
1.912 
2.204 
2,591 
2,215 
3. 8(»3 
1.825 
1.511 
2.364 

277,321 


195 
865 
121 
185 
IIH 
115 
471 
107 
148 
14 
46H 
194 
317 
470 
448 

201 

297 
197 
249 
720 

64 
156 
777 

39 

37 
2 

41 

2 

1.001 

25 
2:iv 

69 

12ft 

1.017 

380 

251 

65 
153 

10 

45;< 

39 
305 

4J 
1.59 

2(i5 
403 
882 
141 

278 
108 

26,358 


3,3.54 
3,733 
2.718 
3.429 
3.851 
5.171 
2.027 
1.667 
1.609 
1.482 
3.006 
3. .507 
7,319 
969 
2,295 
1.179 
2,671 
3.178 
1,217 
4.030 
5.010 
1.725 
1.8.57 

2,9:h5 
1, .566 
1.174 

705 
2,689 
1,628 
3.887 
1.496 
5. 409 
1.517 
1.031 
2.009 
1.378 
5. 570 
3,5()6 
2.901 
1,141 
4.974 

937 
2. 83S 
2,262 
2,048 
1,811 
3.880 
5,496 
1.845 
4.512 
1.961 

3l4,.5(-6 
37, 03 J 


2,222 
2, 922 
2,687 
3,o:« 
4.360 
4.904 
2,495 
1,616 
1,915 
778 
2. SIM) 
1.8(t6 
5.264 
L432 
1.408 
1.709 
3.195 
3.447 
1.5S8 
2.029 
h,T.iS 
1.5x5 
1.56< 
3,795 
894 
7.34 
497 
2.620 
1,744 
2,47K 
1.599 
6,203 
1.924 
1.2(i6 
3.32s 
t.8l 
6, 060 
3, 073 
3,371 
2.261 
3. 4X6 
1,1.50 
1,901 
1,927 
2. 192 
2,582 
2, 141 
4.048 
1,811 
1..500 
2,391 

277, 5;K 


225 


Livingston 


841 


lyOfiaii 


141 


Maciin 


236 


JMiicoupin 


136 




123 


Marion 


514 


Marshall 


105 


Mas'ii 


160 


M assac 


15 


Mi'Honough 


468 


Mt' Henry 


200 


Ml* Lean 


273 




530 


Mercer , 


583 


Ml in roe 




Mi)iit}iomei y 


201 


Morgan 


311 


M oultrie 


213 


0«le 


332 




762 


Perry 


96 


Piatt 


163 


Pike 


834 


Pope 

Pulaski 


54 
46 


Putnam 


3 


liandolph 

Hieiiiand 


40 


Kock Island 


1,205 


Kaline 


27 




234 


8ehu vier 


78 


Seoit 


155 


Hhelhy 


1,023 


8tak 


3n2 


St. ( lair 


238 


Slepliensoii 


71 
161 


TTnion 


10 


Vermilion 


453 


•Waliash 


34 


Wari.n 


328 


Washington 


46 


M'avne 


180 




274 


White.side 


520 


Will 


8S3 


Williamson 


161 


Winnebatio 


366 


Woodturd 


1-23 


Total 

riurallty 


28.898 













POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 309 

Total vote for J. M. Hamilton 'R.), Lieu ten ant -Govf>rnor 317.160 

Total vote for L. 15. Par.sous (L).), Lieuteiiani-Ciuveruor 275,9()(> 

Hamilton's plurality 41.194 

Total vote for Andrew M. Adair (G.), Lieutenant-Governor 26,774 

Total vote for IL D. Dement iR). Secretary of State 317,-1l'3 

Total vote for J. H. Oborly iD.), Secretary of State 2;7,i»1tJ 

Dement's plurality 40,331 

Total vote for J. M. Thompson (G,), Secretary of State 2G,687 

Total vote for 0. P. Swigert (R.), Auditor 317,872 

Total vote for L. C. Starkel (D.), Auditor v;7ti.440 

Swigert'b plurality 41,432 

Total vote for M. F. Ingram fG.), Auditor 26.183 

Total vote for Edward Rutz (U.). Treasun'r 317,732 

Total vote for T. Butterworth (L).), i'reasuri-r ^;t),ij;o 

Rutz's plurality 41,061 

Total vote for G. M. Evans (G.). Treasurer 26.658 

Total vote for James McCartney (R.). Attorney-General 318. 173 

Total vote for L. Harmon (D.). Atturney-General 2iip luil 

McCartney's plurality 42. 112 

Total vote for H. G. Whitlock (G.). Attorney-General... 26.207 

Uriah Copp received, for Governor. 122 votes. 

.1. R. Lawrence received, for Lieuli-naiit-(iovernor. 170 votes. 

Siimuel Reeil received, fnr Secn-tary < f Staie, 118 votes. 

"W. L L'res::*ey received, for Auditor of i uL)lic .\ccoiiiit-', 126 votes. 

Geoige Harrington rec'-ived, for Trt^asurer, 182 votes. 

Alexander B. Lee reoeiveil, for Attorney-General, 129 votes. 

The highest Prohibition Elector received, in all, 443 votes. 

The highest Anti-Masonic Elector received, in all, 153 votes. 

Vote for Congressmen in 1882. 
The following tabular statement of the vote for Con- 
gressmen, in the several congres.-^ional districts, in 1882, 
is compiled from the official returns as priiitetl and pub- 
lished by authority of the Secretary of Siate: 



5 


Counties. 


Candidates. 




Cook 


R.W.Dunham 


J. W. Doane. 

n. 


A. J. Grover. 




1 


11,571 


10,534 


644 












Cook 


J. F. Finerty. 
Ind. J>. 


H.F.Sheridan 
l>. 


J. All peter. 


S. Artley. 





9.360 


6,939 


189 


180 









310 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Vote for Congressmen — Continued. 



03 


Counties. 


Candidates. 




Cook 


G. R. Davis, 


W. P. Black. 
D. 


C. G. Hayman 

»S'oc. 


0. A. Sprague 


3 


12,511 


10, 274 


748 


3 










Cook 


G. E. Adams. 
R. 


L. Tree. 
D. 


F. P. Crandon 
Pro, 


C. Meyer. 
^oc. 


4 


11,686 


9,446 


663 


128 










Lnke 


R. Ellwood. W. Price. 


B. N. Dean. 
Fro. 


Scattering. 


5 


2,171 

2. 0G4 

2,747 
4,1'.'() 


1,166 

1,008 
195 
853 

1,905 


31 

74 

113 

17 

31 


1 




MeHenry 

Booup 






2 




DeKalb 






Kane 


13 




Total 






12, ',11)1 


5, 127 


268 


16 










Winnebago 

Stt^plienson 

Jo Daviess 

Ogle 

Carroll 


R. R. Hitt. 
R. 


J. S. Tieknor. 
I). 


G. W. Curtis. 


Scattering. 


6 


3, 239 
2,: 63 
2.271 
2,514 
1,939 


1,648 
2,752 
1,981 
2, 054 
610 


117 
9 
93 

78 
57 


73 
30 
5 
12 




Total 






12.726 


9,045 


354 


120 










Lee 


T. J. Hender- 
son, R. 


L. G. Johnson 
1). 


M. B. Lloyd. 
Pro. 


Scattering. 




2, 961 

3,049 
3,374 

2,85S 
509 


1,650 
1,118 
1,174 

1,996 
431 


192 

274 
7J9 
452 
26 


57 




Whiteside 

Henry 


10 
3 




Hureau 






Putnam 

Total 










12,751 


6,369 


1,673 


70 










LaSalle 


Wm. CuUen. 
R. 


P. C. Haley. 
L). 


L. Steward. 
(Jr. 


0. Hardy. 
Pro. 


8 


5,162 
1,310 
1,697 
3,935 
1,S17 


6,349 

456 

997 

4, 868 

1,003 


496 
173 
91 
157 


660 




Kendall 

G-ruiidy . . 


112 

10 




Will 


325 




DuPage 


10 




Total 








13,851 


13, 673 


917 


1 017 









POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



311 



Vote for Congressmen — Continued. 



CO 

s 


Counties. 


Candidates. 




Kankakee 

Iroquois 

Ford 


L. E. Payson. 
E. 


E. B. Buck. 
D. 


O.W. Barnard 

Gr. 


Scattering. 


9 


2,125 
2.8(i0 

l.3:n 

3,211 
1,549 
1,483 


1,166 

l,97.i 

575 

1,888 
2, 085 
1,556 


340 
517 
344 
798 
93 
46 


f - • 




1 




Livingston 

Wooilford 

Marsliall 

Total 






86 




12,619 


9,243 


2,138 


94 










Peoria 


J. U. Lewis. 
B. 


N. E. Worth- 
ington— i*. 


M.H.Mitchell 
Pro. 




in 


4,702 
3, f.35 
1,148 
3,795 


6,311 

2,246 

553 

4.461 


aw 

420 
320 
265 






Knox 






Staik 






Fulton 

Total 






13,180 


13,571 


1,335 












Hock Island 


B. F. Marsh. 


W. H. Neece. 
D. 


R. Haney. 
Pro. 


Scattering. 


11 


3, 122 
1.848 
1,016 
2,232 
2,160 
2,523 
L074 


2, 182 
1.251 
878 
1,716 
3,911 
3, 012 
1,654 


1,479 
385 
226 
665 
361 
457 
98 


1 




Henderson 










Hancock 

McDonough 

Schuyler 

Total 














13,975 


14,604 


3,671 


1 












J.M.Singleton 
Ind. 1). 


J. M. Riggs. 


P. N. Minier. 
Pro. 


Scattering. 


12 


289 

678 

5,714 

2,667 

238 

1,141 

771 

284 


1,926 
1,147 
2,546 
3.285 
1,599 
2,479 
1,566 
768 


371 

485 
1,248 
385 
293 
878 
349 
121 














1 




Pike 






Scott 


1 






















Total 






11,782 


15,316 


4.130 


2 










Tazewell 


W.M. Spring'r 
1). 


D. C. Smith. 
R. 


H. M. Miller. 
Pro. 


Scattering. 


13 


2,831 
1,764 
1,504 
6, 004 
3,494 
2,763 


2,456 
l,4;i5 
796 
4.432 
3,064 
2,159 


151 

251 
477 


4 




Menard 






Sangamon 






193 

268 






Christian 

Total 










18,360 


14,042 


1,340 


4 









312 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Vote for Congressmen — Continued. 



a. 

P 


Coanties. Candidates. 




McLpan . 


A.E.Stevens'n 
I). 


J. H. Rowell. 
R. 


D. H. Harts. 
Fro. 


Scattering. 


14 


5. 1»i2 
1.979 
1.IN2 
3,019 
2.756 


5,976 
1.794 
1.765 
3.326 
2,412 


647 
132 
15 
185 
4,35 


1 




DoWttt 


1 




Piatt 






Macon 






Logan 

Total 










14,598 


15,273 


1.414 


2 










Coles 


J. G. Cannon. 


A. J. Hunter. 


J. C. Barnes. 
Fro. 




15 


2, 862 
2. 9X6 
1,715 
4.474 
3.831 


2.950 
3,os4 
1.6.57 
3.639 
3.321 


82 
48 
64 
163 
179 






Kdfjar 






Doutilas 






Veimilion 

Champaign 

Total 






15.868 


14, 651 


536 












Cumberland 

Clark 


A. Shaw. 
U. 


E. B. Green. 
li. 


D. B. Tourney 
J ro. 


Scattering. 


16 


1.433 

2.206 
1,585 
1,419 
1.540 
1,(115 
1.375 
1,877 
450 
1,057 


1,292 
1.9,54 
1.0117 
1.384 
1,511 
1.5M5 
1.317 
1,711 
1,056 
952 


42 
2:^7 
97 
11 
33 


1 




Ja>^pm' 






Crawford 

Clay 






Richland 

Lawrence 

VVaynd 






12 
33 


1 
177 




Edwards 

VV abash 






6 






Total 






14,557 


13,689 


471 


179 










Macoupin 

Montgomery ... 
shulby 


S.W. Moulton 
I). 


W.H. Barlow. 


B.W.F.Corley 
Fro. 


Scattering. 


17 


4.1(18 
2,, 553 
2,588 
1.242 
1,837 
2.107 


3.677 
2, 131 
1,077 
915 
696 
1,572 


45 
137 
925 
184 

95 


1 




2 




Moultrie 

Effingham 

Fayette 

Total 






2 










14.495 


10,068 


1,386 


6 










Bond 


W.C. Kueffner 
li. 


W.R. Morris'n 


T. W. Hynes. 
Fro. 


Scattering. 


18 


1,357 

3,864 

4,761 

751 

1,828 


1.142 
4.Ki:i 
6.210 
1.981 
1,740 


256 
428 
242 






Madison 

[St. Clair 


1 










Washington — 
Total 


143 










12,561 


14. 906 


1.0()9 


1 









POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Vote for Congressmen — Continued. 



313 





Counties. 


Candidates. 






R. W. Town- 
shend— Z>. 


G. C. Ross. 
R. 


M, L. Drum- 
mond. 


Scattering. 


!<» 


Marion 


2,275 
2,011 
1,970 
1,477 
1,798 
2,329 
1,490 
1,555 
701 


1,639 

997 
1,297 
1,02:? 

787 
1,370 
1,41*5 

9iH) 

446 








Clinton 








Jefferson 

Franklin 

Hamilton 

White 


i '"" 


2 














Saline 








Oallatin 








Hardin 






Total 








15,606 


9.930 


1 


2 










Perry 


W.K. Murphy 
I). 


J. R. Thomas. 


J. F. McCart- 
ney— Pro. 




W 


1.89S 

2.398 

2,201 

1,693 

1,954 

767 

795 

1, 150 

6(56 

791 


1,246 
2,:! 12 
1.779 
1.749 
993 
1.393 
1,390 
1.177 
1,089 
3,376 


155 
96 

288 

107 
86 

155 
7 

32 
46 
44 






Randolph 

Jackson 






Williamson 

Union 






Johnson 

Pope 






Alexander 

Pulaski 


'^ 




Massac 






Total 






14,113 


14,504 


1,016 











Senatorial Districts in 1880. 

Of the Senatorial districts which were formed under the 
apportionment act of 1882, and in which no election has 
taken place since for Senator, but which occurs in 1884, 
the vote of 1880 of the respective parties is given: 



Districts. 


R. 


D. 


G. 


Part of Cook.... 


SECOND. 


11,548 
9,234 

7,206 


7,328 
6.650 
5.782 


137 


Part of Cook 


FOURTH. 


140 


Part of Cook.... 


SIXTH. 


130 







314 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Senatorial Districts — Continued. 





Districts. 


R. 


D. 


G. 


Lake 


EIGHTH. 


2.SS4 
3,510 
2,U3^ 


1.494 

1.799 
351 


59 


Mcllenry 


194 


Boone 


84 




TENTH. 




Winnebago.. 


8.438 

4,617 
4,0.54 


3,644 

1,511 

2, 08 - 


337 
278 


Ogle - 


249 




TWELFTH. 




JoDaviess 


8.671 

2.994 
3,5N1 

2.390 


3,590 

2. .303 

3,1171 

9d0 


527 
168 


ytephensou 


65 


Carroll ^ - 


154 




FOURTEENTH. 




Kane 


8,871 

6,180 
2,327 


6,394 

2,831 
1,229 


387 
410 


DuPage , 


16 




SIXTEENTH. 




Kankakee .... 


8,507 

3,2(11 
4, 128 


4, 000 

1,640 

2,738 


426 
107 


Iroquois - -- 


443 




EIGHTEENTH. 




Livingston... 


7.329 

3,771 

1,857 


4,378 

2,861 

780 


650 
865 


Ford 


455 




TWENTIETH. 




Marshall 


6,028 

1.684 

2, (IU7 
2,919 


2,641 

1,603 
2,364 
3.307 


1,320 
107 


Woodford 


108 


Tazewell - - - -- - 


153 




TWENTY- SECOND. 




Knox 


6,610 

4.803 
4.108 


7,334 

2,392 
4,718 


368 
869 


Fulton 


653 




TWENTX-FOUETH. 




Hancock 


9,031 

3,610 
1,279 
2,348 

7,237 
5, 105 

7.317 


7,110 

3,957 

923 

1,487 

6,467 

5,705 

5.202 


1.422 
274 


Hender&on 


152 


Mercer -- -- 


4-18 


Peoria 


TWENTY- SIXTH. 


876 
720 


McLean 


TWENTY-EIGHTH. 


317 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

Senatorial Districts — Continued. 



315 



Districts. 


R. 


D. 


G. 


Champaign .. 


THIRTIETH. 


4,720 
1,855 
2,(111 


3,472 
1,578 
1,845 


666 


Piatt 


156 


DeWitt 


168 




THIETY-SECOND. 




Douglas 


8,586 

1,918 
2,9yi 
1,365 


6,895 

1,689 
2,9(15 
1,563 


890 
65 




141 


Cumberland _. ... .. . ., 


92 




THIETT-FOUETH. 




Mason 


6,279 

1,616 

994 

1,262 

1,520 


6,157 

1,926 
1,473 
1,778 
1,937 


298 
148 


Menard 


470 




224 


Schuyler - - -- - 


69 




THIETT-SIXTH. 




Brown 


5,392 

1,008 

2,968 

505 


7,114 

1,655 

3,812 

946 


911 
153 


Pike 


777 




22 




THIETY-EIGHTH. 




Macoupin 


4,481 

3,904 
3,199 


6,413 

4,341 
3,452 


952 
113 


Morgan 


297 




FOETIETH. 




Christian 


7,103 

2,687 
2, 702 


7,793 

3,346 
3,173 


410 
194 


Montgomery.. -- - - 


2Ul 




FOETT-SECOND. 




Bond 


5,391 

1,711 

1,578 
2,280 


6,519 

1,273 
2,242 
1,912 


395 

108 




116 




44 




rOETY-FOUETH. 




Clay 


6,569 

1,555 
1,6-28 
2,063 
1,177 


5,427 

1,660 

1,730 

2,204 

575 


268 
135 


Richland - 


2 




159 




10 




FOBTY-SIXTH. 






6,423 

1,002 

1,811 

9.39 

1,492 


6,975 

1,760 
2,691 
1,142 
1.497 


306 
499 


White 


265 


Wabash 


39 




39 










5.244 


6,990 


842 



316 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Senatorial Districts — Continued. 



Districts. 


E. 


D. 


G. 


Monroe . .. . 


FORTY-EIGHTH. 


1,172 
2, 7(»5 
1.751 


1,712 
2.614 
1,5:J5 






41 


Perry... , -- - 


64 




FIFTIETH. 




Jackson .. 


6,628 

2,152 
1,139 
1,679 


5,861 

2,160 
2,264 
1,353 


105 
493 


Union 


10 


Aiexander - 


46 










4, 800 


5,777 


549 



Of the twenty-six hold-over Senators, there are fourteen 
Eepublicans and twelve Democrats. 



CHAPTER XLV. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1883. 



Governor — John M. Hamilton. 

Vxesideni protein, and acting Lieiit. -Gov. — W.J. Campbell. 

Secretary of State — H. D. Dement. 

Auditor of Public Accounts — Chas. P. Swigert. 

Treasurer — John C. Smith. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — Henry Raab. 

Attorney General — James McCartney. 

Thirty-third General Assembly. 
The Thirty-third General Assembly convened January 3, 
and consisted of the following members: 



Senate. 



George E. White, Chicago. 
L. D. Condee, Chicago. 
John H. Clough, Chicago. 
C. Mamer, Chicago. 



W. H. Piuger, Chicago. 
George E. Adams, Chicago. 
W. J. Campbell, Chicago. 
George Kirk, Waukegan. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



317 



W. E. Mason, Chicago. 
Isaac Eice, Mount Morris. 
Thos. Cloonan, Chicago. 

D. H. Sunderland, Freeport. 
iMillard B. Hereley, Chicago. 
Henry H. Evans, Aurora. 

E. B. Shumway, Peotone. 
Conrad Secrest, Watseka. 
Lyman B, Bay, Morris. 
Geo. Torrance, Pontiac. 
Wm. C. Snyder, Fulton. 
Thomas M. Shaw, Lacon. 
H. A. Ainsworth, Moline. 
A. W. Berggren, Galesburg. 
J. W. Duncan, Ottawa. 
John Fletcher, Carthage. 
L. D. Whiting, Tiskilwa. 
Andrew J. Bell, Peoria. 
Henry Tubbs, Kirkwood. 
J. W. Fifer Bloomington. 
Jason Rogers, Decatur. 

J. S. Wright, Champaign. 



George Hunt, Paris, 

H. S. Clark, Mattoon. 

E. E. Rinehait, Ffitii gbam. 

E. Laning, Peteisbuig. 
M. Kelly, Liberty. 

Wm. R. Archer, Pittsfield. 

F. M. Bridges, CanoJlun. 

C. A. Walker, Carlinville. 
L. F. Hamilton, Sprin^tidd. 
W. T. Vandeveer, Tayloiviile 

D. B. Gillham, Upper Alton. 
Thos. B. Needles, Nashville. 
Thomas E. Merritt, Sahm. 
J. R. Tanner, Louisville. 
W. H. McNary, Martinsville. 
J. C. Edwards, WcLeanbbo}0 
Henry Seiter, Lebanon. 
Louis Ihorn, Harrisonville. 
Wm. S. Morris, Golconda. 
W. A. Lemma, Carbondale. ' 
Daniel Hogan, Mound City. 



House of Representatives. 



J. Fairbanks, Chicago. 
R. B. Kennedy, Chicago. 

D. Sullivan, Chicago. 
W. H. Harper, Chicago. 
Hilon A. Parker, Chicago. 

E. J. Fellows, Chicago. 

J. W. E. Thomas, Chicago. 
Thomas McNally, Chicago. 
Isaac Abrahams, Chicago. 
John L. Parrish, Chicago. 
J. F. Lawrence, Chicago. 
R. F. Sheridan, Chicago. 
David W. Walsh, Chicago. 
James A. Taylor, Chicago. 
Erwin E. Wood, Chicago. 
Edward D. Cooke, Chicago. 
Theo. Stimming, Chicago. 
Austin 0. Sexton, Chicago. 
L. C. Collins, Jr., Chicago. 
Geo. G. Struckman, Elgin. 



Clayton E. Crafts, Chicago. 
Chas. E. Fuller, Belvidtie. 
Chas. H. Tyron, Richmond. 
E. M. Haines, Waukegan. 
Julius Pedersen, Chicago. 
A. Wendell, Chicago. 
Mark J. Clinton, Chicago. 
A. F. Brown, Stillman Yall'y. 
Ed. B. Sumner, Rockfoid. 
John C. Seyster, Ortgon. 
Jesse J. Rook, Chicago. 
J. O'Shea, Chicago. 
August Mette, Chicago. 
G. L. Hoffman, Mt. Carroll. 
J. A. Hammond, Hanover. 
E. L. Cronkrite, Freeport. 
Peter Sundelius, Chicago. 
Gregory A. Klupp, Chicago. 
John F. Dugan, Chicago. 
Luther L. Hiatt, Wheaton. 



318 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



Henry P. "Walker, Hinsdale. 
James Herrington, Geneva. 
George Bez, "VVilmington. 
John O'Connell, Joliet. 
James L. Owen, Frankfort. 
John H. Jones, Milford. 
William S. Hawker, Salina. 
Daniel C. Taylor, Kankakee. 
Henry Wood, Sycamore. 
H. M. Boardman, Shabbona. 
Andrew Welch, Yorkville. 
J. H. Collier, Gibson City. 
A. G. Good speed, Odell. 
Michael Cleary, Odell. 
Solomon H. Bethea, Dixon. 
John G. Manahan, Sterling. 
John B. Felker, Amboy. 
Eevilo Newton, Minonk. 
John H. Crandall, Morton. 

E. S. Hester, Belle Plain. 
Thos. Nowers, Jr., Atkinson. 
H.C.Clesveland, K. Island. 
Patrick O'Mara, E. Island. 
Wm. H. Emerson, Astoria. 
A. S. Curtis, Oneida. 

F. A. Willoughby, Galesburg. 
Wright Adams, Sheridan. 
Alex. Yaughey, Seneca. 
Samuel C. Wiley, Earlville. 
David Eankin, Bipgsville. 

J. M. Ansley, Swedonia. 
John D. Stevens, Carthage. 
Jas. T. Thornton, Magnolia. 
John Lackie, Osceola. 
John H. Welsh, Tiskilwa. 
Sam'l H. Thompson, Peoria. 
Jos. Gallup, Lawn Eidge. 
Michael C. Quinn, Peoria. 
Isaac N. Pearson, Macomb. 
C. M. Eogers, Monmouth. 
Isaac L. Pratt, Eoseville. 
T. F. Mitchell, Bloomington. 
Lafayette Funk, Shirley. 
Simeon H. West, Leroy. 
John H. Crocker, Maroa. 
John T. Foster, Elkhart. 



E. H. Templeman, Mt. PTski. 
Wm. F. Calhoun, Chnton. 
James A. Hawks, Atwood. 
Wm. A. Day, Champaign. 
Wm. J. Calhoun, Danville. 
Eobert B. Eay, Fairmount. 

E. E. E. Kimbrough, D'nvi'Je 
Joseph G. Ewing, Areola. 
Wm. H. DeBord, Greenup. 

F. M. Eichardson, Neoga. 
Charles L. Eoane, Sullivan. 
Thos. N. Henry, Windsor. 
John H. Baker, Sullivan. 
T. L. Mathews, Virginia. 
Wm. M. Duffy, San Jose. 
H. C. Thompson, Virginia. 
Thos. G. Black, Clayton. 
James E. Purnell, Quincy. 
J. E. Downing, Camp Point. 
T. Worthington, Jr., Pittsti'ld. 
J. W. Moore, Mound Station. 

F. M. Greathouse, Hardin. 
J. H. Coats, Winchester. 
W. E. Carlin, Jersey ville. 

G. W. Murray. Winchester. 
I. L. Morrison, Jacksonville. 

A. N. Yancey, Bunker Hill. 
E. M. Ivinmau, Jacksonville. 

D. T. Littler, ■ Springheld. 

B. F. Caldwell, Chatham. 
G. W. Murray, Springfield. 

E. E. Cowperthwait. 

Geo. M. Stevens, Nokomis. 
John B. Eicks, Taylorville. 
John M. Pearson, Godfrey, 
Henry 0. Billings, Alton. 
Eobert D. Utiger, Alhambra. 
John L. Nichols, Clement. 

F. E. W. Brmk, Hoyleton. 
Jas. M. Eountree, Nashville. 
Seth F. Crews, Mt. Vernon. 

G. H. Varnell, Mt. Vernon. 
J. D. Jennii?gs, Beecher, City. 
Henry Studer, Olney. 
John S. Symonds, Flora. 
Elbert Eowland, Olney. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 319 

J. M. Honey, Newton. John Higgins, DnQuoin. 

Grandison Clark, Newfcon. E. W. McCartney, Metropolis. 
Wm. Upclyke, Robinson. Wm. H. Boyer, Harrisburg. 
Wm. H. Jolmson, Carmi. Jas. M. Gregg, Harrisburg. 
Lowry Hay, Carmi. J. M. Scurlock, Carbondaie. 

F. W. Cox, Bridgeport. Sidney Grear, Jonesboro. 

J. B. Messick, E. St. Louis. David T. Linegar, Cairo. 
Louis C. Starkel, Belleville. Wm. W. Hoskinson, Benton. 
M. A. Sullivan, E. St. Louis. Milo Erwin, Marion. 
J. R. McEie, Coulterville. A. N. Lodge,* Marion. 
Jas. F. Canniflf, Waterloo. Wm. A. Spann,f Johnson Co. 

W. J. Campbell, of Cook, was elected President j^ro tem- 
pore of the Senate, over Thomas M. Shaw, of Marshall, 
by a vote of 23 to 15, and L. F. Watson, Secretai-y. 

In the House, Lorin C. Collins, Jr., of Cook, was elected 
Speaker, over Austin 0. Sexton, of Cook, by a vote of 78 
to 75, and John A. Reeve, of Alexander, Clerk, over Wm. 
A. Connelly, by a vote of 77 to 75. 

Gov. Cullom laid his message before the two houses on 
the 5th. It was an able and carefully prepared State 
paper, setting forth, in detail, all the needs and wants of 
the State. He recommended that section 16, of article 5 
of the constitution be so amended as to give the Governor 
power to veto objectionable portions of appropriation bills, 
and earnestly recommended the revising of the criminal 
code. 

One of the important duties of this General Assembly 
was the election of a United States Senator to succeed 
David Davis. On the 16th of January, the two houses 
voted separately on the question. In the Senate Shelby 
M. Cullom, the nominee of the Republican party, received 
30 votes, and John M. Palmer, the nominee of the Demo- 
cratic party, 20 votes. In the House Mr. Cullom received 
75 votes, and Mr. Palmer 75. Three members of the 
House refrained from voting, hence there was no election, 
and on the 17th the two houses met in joint session and 
voted for United States Senator. Cullom received 107 votes, 

* Seat contested by Spann. t Admitted to Lodge's seat. 



320 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and Palmer 95. Mr. Cullom having received a majority 
of ail the votes cast, was declared, by the Speaker, the 
duly elected Senator. 

On the 7th of February Shelby M. Cullom resigned the 
office of Governor, when Lieut. -Gov. Hamilton became 
Governor, and Wm. J. Campbell, President pro tempore 
of the Senate, acting Lieutenant-Governor. 

Gov. Cullom retired from the office with a pleasing 
record. He had held the exalted trust for over six years, 
and while his duties, for the most part, were routine, yet 
there were times when his ability and courage were put 
to the severest test, and he was always equal to the 
emergency. During the great riot of the railroad employes 
in 1877 — which was widespread in the East and the West — 
when the mob threatened to burn and pillage our great 
cities, the sagacity and promptness with which Gov. Cullom 
brought the military power of the State government into 
requisition, saved the State millions of dollars in property, 
preserved order, and prevented the shedding of innocent 
blood; and whenever and wherever mob-law raised its 
hydra-head, he was quick to put it down. The Southern 
Illinois Penitentiary, at Chester, was built during his 
administration, and it is regarded as the most modern 
and complete prison in all the States, for it so happens 
that it is the last one erected in the United States, and 
advantage was taken of all the modern improvements or 
appliances. The Insane Asylum at Kankakee was built 
during his administration, and it is also a modern and 
most desirable structure. The reorganization of the militia 
was a work of no little magnitude, and we doubt if there 
is a State in the Union which has so simple and yet so 
effective military system. In retiring, to assume other 
duties, he left the State entirely out of debt and in a most 
prosperous condition. During his administration there 
was paid $1,455,000 of the old State debt. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 321 

None of Gov. CuUom's messages were partisan in char- 
acter, but this extract from his second inaugural, delivered 
in January, 1881, is worthy of preservation in these pages, 
as it embodies some wholesome truths well and eloquently 
expressed : 

" There are portions of Europe and Asia — say Southern 
Eussia and parts of Asiatic Turkey — as blessed in soil and 
climate as Illinois, but the people are sunk in degradation 
and poverty, because their rulers, while imposing the 
severest burdens of taxation, give nothing in return — no 
roads — no schools — not even adequate protection to life 
and property. 

" The people of those countries would say of us, that we 
pay no taxes at all, inasmuch as what we do pay is spent 
among ourselves, for our own good and by our own 
servants. If the same percentage of our able-bodied men 
were kept in idleness as a standing army, and propor- 
tionate amounts were spent upon fortifications and naval 
armaments, as by the States of Europe, we should see a 
very diiferent condition of affairs in this country. 

" Our people, intelligent men and women, have not only 
made our political institutions what they are, but they have 
shown themselves able and patriotic enough to defend and 
preserve them, as a matchless inheritance handed down 
to us by our fathers. For twenty years, the watchword of 
the people has been Liberty and Union ; and, under such 
inspiration, the Union has been saved, ideas in harmony 
with its perpetuity have been well grounded in the minds 
of the people, liberty has become universal, the National 
credit has been established, and confidence in republican 
government greatly strengthened in the minds of states- 
men everywhere. 

" The struggle which secured all these great blessings 
cost millions of money, and thousands of brave and patri- 
otic lives ; and, as we recede from the period of the strug- 
gle, we must not forget the greatness of the sacrifices, 
nor those who made them. The deeds of heroism of the 
Union soldier of the late war should be remembered with 
gratitude, as long as history shall endure. 

" The foundation of our political structure is the ballot. 
It is the expression of the divine right of the people to 
rule. It raises up men and parties, and casts them down. 
It is the fiat of power ; but to be valuable, and accomplish 
its true purpose and end, this voice of the people must be 
—21 



322 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

fairly expressed. Founded on intelligence, it should be 
without coercion, bribery or intimidation ; and thus cast, 
it should be honestly counted in determining results. 
These sentiments may appear famihar and trite, but they 
can not be too often repeated, and especially should those 
who, as servants of the people, have to perform legislative 
or executive functions, constantly remember that the chief 
end and aim of their service should be to preserve and 
transmit our free institutions, which can only be done 
when the will of an intelligent people is assured of a free 
and pure expression by the ballot." 

The Thirty-third General Assembly was in session nearly 
six months. In the early part of the session Eepresenta- 
tive Harper introduced a bill for the purpose of creating 
a uniform license for the sale of spirituous liquors. This 
became a party measure, the Eepublicans taking the 
affirmative side of the question, and the Democrats accept- 
ing the negative. The bill was introduced on the 26th of 
January, and continued to be the subject of discussion in 
the House until June 8, when it passed by a vote of 79 
yeas to 65 nays. It had the support of all the Eepub- 
licans save four, and the opposition of all the Democrats 
but nine. In the Senate the bill was passed June 15, by 
a vote of 30 yeas to 20 nays. Twenty-nine Eepublicans 
and one Democrat voted for it, and nineteen Democrats 
and one Eepublican against it. An hour after its passage 
it received the signature of Gov. Hamilton, and on the 1st 
of July it became the law. 

Of the Eepublicans in the House who were most active 
for the bill were, Adams, Bethea, W. F. Calhoun, W. J. Cal- 
houn, Coats, Fuller, Hoffman, Johnson, Littler, McCartney, 
Morrison, Owen, Parker, Stimmiug, Thomas and Worthing- 
ton, and of the Democrats, Day, Grear, Greathouse, Gregg 
and Willoughby ; and of the Democrats who most actively 
opposed the passage of the measure were, Abrahams, Bill- 
ings, Crafts, Haines, Herrington, Klupp, Linegar, McNally, 
Qumn, Sexton, Starkel, Vaughey and Yancey, and of the 
Eepublicans, Wendell. In the Senate the Eepublicans who 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 823 

were most active for the bill were, Clough, Fifer, Hogan, 
Hunt, and Kice, and of the Democrats, Edwards ; and of 
Democrats most active in opposing it were, Duncan, Ham- 
ilton, Merritt and Shaw, and of the Eepublicans, Needles. 

Mr. Morrison was the acknowledged leader on the Re- 
publican side, and Mr. Haines — although an Independent 
— on the Democratic. The contest was long, and, at 
times, very exciting, and it remained a matter of doubt 
as to which side would triumph, until the very hour the 
final vote was taken. The leaders were very evenly 
matched as to ability and parliamentary tactics. 

This was the important measure of the session. Exclu- 
sive of the appropriation acts there were few bills passed, 
and they were not momentous in character, if we except 
"House Bill No. 504," entitled "An act to enable railroad 
companies to extend their lines or construct branches to 
points not named in their articles of incorporation, and 
to enable any railroad company in this State to have 
power to purchase, own and hold the stock and securities 
of any railroad that forms a continuous line of travel 
from this to another State," which received the veto of 
the Governor. His objections to the bill are plainly and 
forcibly set forth in this extract from his veto message: 

" To allow this bill to become a law, would be to allow 
the officers and directors of any railroad company in this 
State to use the surplus earnings of the road — which by 
law belongs to the stockholders — in the purchase and 
manipulation of railroad stocks and securities, in the 
market, and thus permit them to become powerful spec- 
ulators in the stocks and securities of their own company 
and those of all other companies formed in other States, 
with whose lines of railroad they may connect at the 
borders of this State anywhere, or with which they may 
form a continuous line of travel. 

" The grant of such extraordinary powers and privileges 
to the officers of a railroad company would enable them 
to manipulate the price of the stocks and securities of 
their own company at will, and controlling the fortunes 
and business of the railroad, to artificially force the price 



324 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

of such suciirities up or down, as they pleased, and thus 
by the 'freezing out' process, well known in corporation 
circles, the number of stockholders would in due course 
of time be limited to the few manipulators, and at a 
financial sacrifice to those stockholders not in the official 
management. 

" But the grant of such dangerous power as this proposed 
in the bill would enable railroad corporations to accom- 
plish another great wrong, intended to be forbidden by 
the policy of our constitution and laws. Under the pro- 
visions of this bill, if it should become a law, any railroad 
company organized under the laws of this State, whose 
line of railroad runs into Chicago, for instance, or any 
other locality on the border of the State, and there con- 
nects or forms a continuous line of travel with railroads 
running through and organized in another State — might, 
from its accumulating surplus capital, purchase the stocks 
and securities of such 'connecting' or 'continuous' rail- 
road in another State without limitation, until it could 
own the majority of such stocks and securities, and thereby 
own and control any one, or any number of these lines ; 
thus, in fact, combming them into one vast and powerful 
monopoly by a consolidation of capital in fact — although 
formal consolidations of the corporations are expressly 
and wisely forbidden by law, particularly as to parallel 
or competing lines. 

"1 especially object to the last clause of this bill, which 
is as follows : 'And any purchases (i. e. of stocks or secur- 
ities) heretofore made within the purposes of this act are 
hereby declared to be lawful.' 

"The object of this clause is plain, and can not be mis- 
taken. It is to quietly legalize confessedly illegal acts 
heretofore committed." 

This was the first test Governor Hamilton had with 
legislation of doubtful import, and his emphatic disap- 
proval of it met the hearty approbation of the people. 

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Con- 
stitution, giving the Governor power to veto objectionable 
portions of appropriation bills without impairing the valid- 
ity of the whole act, passed both houses. 

Although Governor Callom, in retiring from the Execu- 
tive chair, left the people in perfect peace, the adminis- 
tration of his successor was soon disturbed by the outbreak 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 325 

of a mob in the mining district of St. Clair county, and 
the Illinois National Guard was called out to aid in the 
enforcement of the law. In this conflict one of the dis- 
turbers of the peace lost his life, and in concluding an 
elaborate report to the General Assembly, concerning the 
use of the State militia on that occasion, Governor Ham- 
ilton said: 

"I regret as much as any one the necessity which 
caused the shedding of blood and loss of human life. But 
in this State, men of all classes must seek redress for 
wrongs by peaceful and quiet means, and the remedies 
afforded to all people in the law. They must not attempt 
to defy the government, trample law under foot, and en- 
force their demands by violence and intimidation. There 
can be no objection to workingmen of any kind refusing 
to work, when dissatisfied with their wages, and thus 
peaceably demanding and obtaining higher wages, but they 
have no right to assemble themselves into a lawless mob of 
rioters, and go about the country taking possession of 
property not their own, and preventing other workingmen, 
who are satisfied and who want to work, from work, by 
abuse, assault, threats, intimidation and terrorizing, or by 
forcibly compelling them to cease work. The workingmen, 
just as all other citizens, must and shall be protected in 
all their natural and legal rights, so far as lies in my 
power, while chief executive of this State, but whenever 
they attempt to redress their grievances by violence and 
force, and thus place themselves beyond the pale of the 
law's protection, and in open defiance of its officers, then 
they will come into unequal contest with all the power of 
the government, ci\il and mihtary, and must expect to 
get worsted in every such conflict. For the government 
must rule, law must be respected, officers obeyed while in 
the discharge of their duty, and the peace preserved at 
all hazards, without fear or favor. 

This bold, yet calm and deliberate expression of a deter- 
mination on the part of Governor Hamilton, that he in- 
tended to see that the majesty of the law was upheld, even 
though in order to do so he would have to use the whole 
power of the State, was opportune, and had the effect to 
put a sudden end to the mob spirit which was then stalk- 
ing abroad in the State, and threatened the destruction of 
both life and property. 



326 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

JOHN DEMENT. 



Col. John Dement, who died at his home in Dixon, on 
the 16th of January, 1883, was born in Sumner county, 
Tennessee, April, 1804. He came to Illinois with his 
parents in 1817 ; he soon won the confidence of the peo- 
ple of his adopted State, and was elected sheriff of 
Franklin county in 1826; he represented that county in 
the General Assemblies of 1828-30; he participated in 
three campaigns against the Indians ; in the first he was 
aid-de-camp to Gov. Reynolds, with the rank of Colonel; 
in the second he was a Captain ; in the third he was a 
Major, and commanded a battalion, which had a hotly 
contested engagement with Black Hawk and his entire 
band at Kellogg's Grove, in which that noted warrior was 
repulsed ; and Black Hawk is reported to have said that 
Col. Dement was the bravest man he ever faced in a bat- 
tle. In 1831, the General Assembly elected him State 
Treasurer; he was twice re-elected, but resigned the office 
in 1836, to serve the people of Fayette county as a Repre- 
sentative in the General Assembly, but failing in his efforts 
to prevent the removal of the capital to Springfield, he 
resigned his seat in that body and removed to the lead 
mines in the northern part of the State. In 1837, he was 
appointed by President Jackson Receiver of Public Moneys, 
and held the office through the Administration of Presi- 
dent Van Buren, but in 181:1, President Harrison removed 
him. In 1844, he was district elector for Polk and Dallas ; 
in 1845, President Polk reappointed him Receiver of Public 
Moneys ; he was a delegate to the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1847 ; in 1849, President Taylor removed him from 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 327 

the office of Receiver of Public Moneys ; in 1853, President 
Pierce reappointed him to that office, which he continued 
to hold until it was abolished; in 1861, he was elected a 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and was made 
president pro tempore. In 1870, he was again elected a 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and again made 
president pro tempore. Although living in a strongly Ee- 
publican district, he was always sure of an election when- 
ever he consented to be a candidate. In his reminiscen- 
ces, Linder relates the following incident of Col. Dement, 
which illustrates, to some extent, the character of the 
man. He says : 

" Colonel Dement was not only brave, but in the face 
of danger he was cool, cautious, and prudent. That I am 
a living man to-day, I owe, perhaps, to his friendship, 
bravery and prudence. In 1837, after I was elected to 
the office of Attorney-General of Illinois, I got into a diffi- 
culty with a very desperate man, who was a member of 
the Senate, and he challenged me, and General James 
Turney was elected by him as his second, and he deliv- 
ered the challenge to me. I accepted it, and referred him 
to Colonel John Dement as my second, who would fix the 
distance and select the weapons. Having expected this 
before I received the challenge, I had informed my friend 
Dement that I expected to be challenged, and that I should 
select him for my second, and should place my honor and 
life in his hands. He said to me : ' Linder, I will take 
charge of both ; and, without letting your honor suffer, 
■will take good care that you never fight; for if you do, 
be will be sure to kill you, for he is as cool and desperate 
as a bandit.' I replied, that the matter would be placed 
in his hands, and I should refer his second to him (Col. 
Dement) as my second, to arrange the distance and select 
the weapons with which we would fight. Accordingly, 
when Gen. Tunaey called upon Col. Dement, Dement in- 
formed him that we Avould light with pistols at close quar- 
ters, each holding one end of the same handkerchief in 
bis teeth. 

' My God ! ' replied Gen. Turney, 'Col. Dement, that 
amounts to the deliberate murder of both men.' 

'It don't matter,' said Dement, 'your principal is cool, 
desperate and deliberate, while my friend is nervous and 



828 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

excitable, and if he has to lose his life, your friend must 
bear him company.' 

" Gen. Turney being a very humane and honorable gen- 
tleman, and really as much my friend as he was his 
principal's, said to Col. Dement : 'Colonel, this meeting 
must never take place; so let you and I take this matter 
in hand and have it settled in an amicable way, honor- 
able to both parties.' 

" 'The very thing,' said Col. Dement, 'that I have desired 
to bring about. Linder is a young man, and has just 
been elected Attorney-General of the State, and has an 
interesting wife, and little daughter only four years old, 
who have only been in this town (Vandalia) but a few 
days, and it would be next to breaking my heart to have 
the one made a widow and the other an orphan.' 

" They agreed that a hostile meeting should not take 
place; and the matter was amicably and honorably 
arranged between the Senator and myself. We met, made 
friends, shook hands, and to the last day of his life we 
were the best of friends." 

In every public trust Col. Dement filled the full measure 
of the law; he was able, honest and faithful. As a man 
he was modest and unassuming; as a citizen, no man 
stood higher ; as a friend, he was warm and true. Polit- 
ically he was a Democrat, but during the war for the 
Union he was an active supporter of the war; and his 
only son, Henry D. Dement, the present Secretary of 
State, was one of the first volunteers in the three years' 
service, enlisting in Company "A," Thirteenth Regiment in- 
fantry. The death of Col. Dement was deeply mourned by 
the community in which he had lived so long, and the 
General Assembly passed resolutions of condolence, and had 
them spread upon the journals, and a copy sent to the 
bereaved family. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 329 



CHAPTER XLVII. 
ABOUT COLORED PEOPLE. 



Governor Coles Fined $2,000 under the Black Laws— Why Black Laws were 
Enacted— Black Laws Approved— Vote of the State in 186^ on Article 
Prohibiting Colored Emigration— Vote of Soldiers on Prohibition of 
Colored Emigration— What Connecticut Did— What Massachusetts Did— 
Whatthe Nation Did— Transition from Slavery to Freedom— Whipped and 
Ordered from the .--tate- A Case of Kidnapping— Tribulations of Free 
Negroes— A Free Colored Boy's Experience— Last Attempt to Return a 
Fugitive Slave— Trials of Contrabands— Mobbed on Account of his Vote 
—First Colored Seiiool— Blood-Hounds— Colored Jurors— Adoption of 
Amendments— First Colored Vote Cast In Cairo. 



The people of Illinois, until the new order of things, 
have ever had a fondness for black laws. There was a 
stringent law passed by the State Legislature in 1819, 
which was similar in character to that passed in 1853. 
Under this law, in 1825, a suit was instituted against 
Governor Coles in the Circuit Court of Madison county, 
to recover a penalty prescribed by that law; he pleaded 
the statute of limitation, but the court overruled the plea, 
and judgment was given against him for $2,000. A motion 
was made for a new trial, which the court took under 
advisement, and before it was decided the Legislature 
passed an act releasing all penalties under the act of 
1819, including those in litigation ; but the court decHned 
to grant a new trial, when the case was appealed to the 
Supreme Court, where the judgment was reversed, and 
Coles discharged from all liability. (See Gillespie's Eecol- 
lections of Early Illinois.) 



330 politics and politicians of illinois. 

Black Laws — Why Enacted. 
The changed state of our civilization, as regards the col- 
ored race, makes it of interest to the reader to know what 
the black laws of 1853 were, and how they came to be a 
part of the laws of the State. Article fourteen of the 
constitution of 1848 reads as follows : " The General 
Assembly shall, at its first session under the amended 
constitution, pass such laws as will effectually prohibit 
free persons of color from immigrating to and settling in 
this State ; and to effectually prevent the owners of slaves 
from bringing them into this State, for the purpose of 
settling them here." The General Assembly of 1853, act- 
ing in accordance with this provision of the constitution, 
passed the following act, which was approved February 12 : 

"An Act to Prevent the Immigration of Free Negroes 
INTO THIS State. 

" Section 1. Be it enacted hy the People of the State of 
Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That if any 
person or persons shall bring, or cause to be brought, into 
this State, any negro or mulatto slave, whether said slave 
is set free or not, he shall be liable to an indictment, and, 
upon conviction thereof, be fined for every such negro or 
mulatto, a sum not less than one hundred dollars, nor 
more than five hundred dollars, and imprisoned in the 
county jail not more than one year, and shall stand com- 
mitted until said fine and costs are paid. 

" Sec 2. When an indictment shall be found against 
any person, or persons, who are not residents of this 
State, it shall be the duty of the court before whom said 
indictment is pending, upon affidavit being made and 
filed in said court by the prosecuting attorney, or any 
other credible witness, setting forth the residence of said 
defendant, to notify the Governor of this State, by caus- 
ing the clerk of said court to transmit to the office of the 
Secretary of State a certified copy of said imlictment and 
affidavit, and it shall be the duty of the Goveruer, upon 
the receipt of said copies, to appoint some suitable person 
to arrest said defendant or defendants, in whatever State 
or county he or they may be found, and to commit him 
or them to the jail of the county in which said indictment 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 331 

is pending, there to remain and answer said indictment, 
and be otherwise dealt with in accordance with this act; 
and it shall be the duty of the Governor to issue all 
necessary requisitions, writs and papers, to the Governor 
or other executive officer of the State, territory or prov- 
ince where such defendant or defendants may be found: 
Provided, that this section shall not be construed so as to 
alfect persons, or slaves, bona fide traveling through this 
State, from and to any other State in the tJnited States. 

" Sec. 3. If any negro, or mulatto, bond or free, shall 
hereafter come into this State and remain ten days, with 
the evident intention of residing in the same, every such 
negro or mulatto shall be deemed guilty of a high misde- 
meanor, and for the first offence shall be fined the sum 
of fifty dollars, to be recovered before any justice of the 
peace in the county where said negro or mulatto may be 
found. Said proceedings shall be in the name of the peo- 
ple of the State of Illinois, and shall be tried by a jury 
of twelve men. The person making the information or 
complaint shall not be a competent witness upon said 
trial. 

" Sec. 4. If said negro or mulatto shall be found guilty, 
and the fine assessed be not paid forthwith to the justice 
of the peace before whom said proceedings were had, it 
shall be the duty of said justice to commit said negro or 
mulatto to the custody of the sheriff of said county, or 
otherwise keep him, her or them in custody ; and said 
justice shall forthwith advertise said negro or mulatto, by 
posting up notices thereof in at least three of the most 
public places in his district, which said notices shall be 
posted up for ten days, and on the day and at the time 
and place mentioned in said advertisement, the said jus- 
tice shall, at public auction, proceed to sell said negro 
or mulatto to any person or persons who will pay 
said fine and costs, for the shortest time ; and said pur- 
chaser shall have the right to compel said negro or mu- 
latto to work for and serve out said time, and he shall 
furnish said negro or mulatto with comfortable food, cloth- 
ing and lodging during said servitude. 

" Seo. 5. If said negro or mulatto shall not, within ten 
days after the expiration of his, her, or their time of ser- 
vice as aforesaid, leave the State, he, she or they shall 
be liable to a second prosecution, in which the penalty 
to be inflicted shall be one hundred dollars, and so on 
for every subsequent offence the penalty shall be increased 



332 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

fifty dollars over and above the last penalty inflicted, and 
the same proceedings shall be had in each case as is pro- 
vided for in the preceding section for the first offence. 

"Sec. 6. Said negro or mulatto shall have a right to 
take an appeal to the circuit court of the county in which 
said proceedings shall have been had, vi^ithin five days 
after the rendition of the judgment, before the justice of 
the peace, by giving bond and security, to be approved 
by the clerk of said court, to the people of the State of 
Illinois, and to be filed in the office of said clerk within 
said five days, in double the amount of said fine and 
costs, conditioned that the party appealing will personally 
be and appear before said circuit court at the next term 
thereof, and not depart said court without leave, and will 
pay said fine and all costs, if the same shall be so 
adjudged by said court; and said security shall have the 
right to take said negro or mulatto into custody, and re- 
tam the same until :,the order of said court is complied 
with. And if the judgment of the justice of the peace 
be affirmed in whole or in part, and said negro or mulatto 
be found guilty, the said circuit court shall thereupon 
render judgment against said negro or mulatto and the 
security or securities on said appeal bond, for the amount 
of fine so found by the court, and all costs of suit, and 
the clerk of said court shall forthwith issue an execution 
against said defendant and security as in other cases, and 
the sheriff or other officer to whom said execution is 
directed shall proceed to collect the same by sale or other- 
wise : Provided, that this section shall not be so construed 
as to give the security on said appeal bond right to re- 
tain the custody of said negro or mulatto for a longer 
time than ten days after the rendition of said judgment 
by said circuit court. 

" Sec. 7. In all cases arising under the provisions of this 
act, the prosecuting witness, or person making the com- 
plaint and prosecuting the same, shall be entitled to one- 
half of the fine so imposed and collected, and the residue 
of sftid fine shall be paid into the county treasury of the 
county in which said proceedings were had ; and said fines, 
when so collected, shall be received by said county treas- 
urer and kept by him as a distinct and separate fund, to 
be called the 'charity fund,' and said fund shall be used 
for the express and only purpose of relieving the poor of 
said county, and shall he paid out by said tifeasurer upon 
the order of the county, drawn upon him for that purpose. 



' POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 333 

" Sec. 8. If, after any negro or mulatto shall have been 
arrested under the provisions of this act, any person or 
persons shall claim any such negro or mulatto as a slave, 
the owner, by himself, or agent, shall have a right by 
giving reasonable notice to the officer or person having 
the custody of said negro or mulatto, to appear before the 
justice of the peace before whom said negro or mulatto 
shall have been arrested, and prove his or their right to 
the custody of said negro or mulatto as a slave, and if 
said justice of the peace shall, after hearing the evidence, 
be satisfied that the person or persons claiming said 
negro or mulatto, is the owner of and entitled to the cus- 
tody of said negro or mulatto, in accordance with the 
laws of the United States passed upon this subject, he 
shall, upon the owner or agent paying all costs up to the 
time of claiming said negro or mulatto, and the costs of 
proving the same, and also the balance of the tine remain- 
ing unpaid, give to said owner a certificate of said facts, 
and said owner or agent so claiming shall have a right to 
take and remove said slave out of this State. 

" Sec. 9. If any justice of the peace shall refuse to 
issue any writ of process necessary for the arrest and 
prosecution or any negro or mulatto, under the provisions 
of this act, upon complaint being made before said jus- 
tice by any resident of his county, and his fees for said 
service being tendered him, he shall be deemed guilty of non- 
feasance in office, and upon conviction thereof punished 
accordingly; and in all cases where the jury find for the 
negro or mulatto, or that he, she or they are not guilty 
under the provisions of this act, the- said justice of the 
peace shall proceed to render judgment against the prose- 
cuting witness, or person making the complaint, and shall 
collect the same as other judgments : Provided, that said 
prosecuting witness, or person making said complaint, in 
case judgment is rendered against him, shall have a right 
to take an appeal to the circuit court, as is provided for 
in this act in case said negro or mulatto is found guilty. 

"Sec. 10. Every person who shall have one-fourth negro 
blood shall be deemed a mulatto. 

" Sec. 11. This act shall take effect and be in force 
from and after its passage." 

Black Laws Approved. 
The present and future generations may be disposed to 
view with feelings of horror men who would deliberately 



834 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

pass such a law, little thinking that it was the fault of 
the people themselves. At that period, a majority of the 
people of Illinois loathed the very presence of the colored 
man, and were unwillitig to accord to him any of the civil 
or political rights enjoyed by the white man. The article 
of the constitution which enjoined upon the General Assem- 
bly the passage of this act was submitted to a separate 
vote of the people when the constitution was voted upon, 
and it was adopted by a majority of 28,938; and in 1862^ 
the people confirmed the work of the Legislature of 1853 by 
adopting Article 18, Sections one, two and three of the 
then proposed constitution, which was submitted to them 
for their adoption or rejection, by an unprecedented 
majority. That article was in these words : 

Article 18. 

" Section 1. No negro or mulatto shall migrate to or 
settle in this State, after the adoption of this constitu- 
tion. 

" Sec 2. No negro or mulatto shall have the right of 
suffrage or hold office in this State. 

" Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall pass all laws 
necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this article. 

Vote in 1862 on Article Prohibiting Colored Immigration. 

There was a majority of 24,515 against the constitution. 
Article 18 was voted on separately, and by sections; the 
vote for section 1 was, 178,252; against, 73,287. Majority 
for section 1, 104,965. 

For section 2, 218,405; against, 37,548. Majority for 
section 2, 180,857. 

For section 3, 205,398; against, 46,318. Majority for 
section 8, 159,080. 

Vote of the Soldiers. 
The framers of the proposed constitution had provide! 
for the soldiers in the field voting on the adoption or re- 
jection of the constitution. The vote in the army was as 
follows : 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 835 

For the constitution, 1,687; against, 10,151. Majority 
against, 8,464. 

For Section 1, Article 18, 6,356; against, 1,981 Major- 
ity for, 4,375. 

For Section 2, Article 18, 6,485; against, 1,899. Majority 
for, 4,686. 

For Section 3, Article 18, 6,460; against, 1,904. Majority 
for, 4,556. 

Thus it will be seen that nine years after the passage 
of the black laws, the people assembled at the ballot-box, 
at a time when there was no political excitement, and 
reaffirmed, through the medium of the ballot, the very prin- 
ciples embodied in the black laws ; and although the State 
had at that time near a hundred thousand soldiers in the 
field, many of whom were without an opportunity to vote, 
the aggregate vote in the State on the adoption or rejec- 
tion of the constitution was 277,993, being only 58,411 
votes less than was cast at the Presidential election in 
1860, when the full strength of the political parties was 
brought out to the polls. It is sometimes a habit with 
men engaged in active politics to select the name of some 
prominent leader, and charge to him the responsibility of 
the passage of a bad or unpopular law; but the respon- 
sibility of the passage of the black laws cannot be so 
charged, for the reason that the people themselves are 
responsible for them, and the Legislature but reflected 
their will. 

What Connecticut Did. 

It is not strange, however, that Illinois should have 
partaken of the spirit to oppress the negro, when we bear 
in mind that at the time of the adoption of the National 
Constitution every State in the Union, except Massachu- 
setts, tolerated slavery, and in most of them the laws were 
severe and arbitrary; but even Massachusetts had toler- 
ated the institution in Colonial times, and hence none of 



336 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the original States are exempt from the charge of having 
had a share in its barbarism. 

In 1833, Miss Prudence Crandall opened her school at 
Canterbury, Windham county, Connecticut, to the educa- 
tion of negro girls. This greatly incensed the people of 
that community, and on the 24th of May of that year, 
the Legislature passed an act, with the view of destroy- 
ing or breaking up her school, the preamble of which 
reads thus : " Whereas, attempts have been made to estab- 
lish literary institutions in this State for the instruction 
of colored persons belonging to other States and countries, 
which would tend to the great increase of the colored 
population in the State, and thereby to the injury of the 
people." The act provided that no person should set up 
or establish, in that State, any school, academy or liter- 
ary institution for the instruction or education of colored 
persons who were not inhabitants of that State, nor 
instruct or teach in any school, academy or literary in- 
stitution whatever in that State, or harbor or board for 
the purpose of attending or being taught or instructed in 
any such school, academy or literary institution, any col- 
ored person who was not an inhabitant of any town in 
that State, without the consent, in writing, of a majority 
of the selectmen of the town in which such school, 
academy or literary institution was located. The penalty 
provided was a fine of $100, for the first offense ; for the 
second, |200, and so double the amount for every ofl'ense 
he or she might commit. (See Revised Statutes of Con- 
necticut, of 1835.) Under this law. Miss Crandall was 
prosecuted. The case was tried in the Superior Court, at 
Brooklyn, October term, 1833, before Judge Daggett, Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Errors. Mr. Daggett, in 
his instructions to the jury, adverting to the import of 
the Constitution of the United States relating to citizen- 
ship, said; 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 337 

" To my mind, it would be a perversion of terms and the 
•well-known rule of construction, to say that slaves, free 
blacks, or Indians, were citizens, within the meaning of 
that term as used by the Constitution. God forbid that 
I should add to the degradation of this race of men ; but 
I am bound, by my duty, to say they are not citizens." 

The jury brought in a verdict of guilty, and Miss Cran- 
dall was fined $100. The case was appealed to the Su- 
preme Court of Errors. Thomas Day, the official reporter, 
in reporting the proceedings of the case, says : 

" Judson and C. F. Cleaveland, for the State (defendant 
in error), after remarking upon the magnitude of the ques- 
tion, as affecting not the town of Canterbury alone, but 
every town in the State and every State in the Union, said 
the principles urged by the counsel for the plaintiff in 
error, if established, would, in their consequences, destroy 
the government itself and this American Nation — blotting 
out this Nation of white men and substituting one from 
the African race — tlius involving the honor of the State, 
the dignity of the people, and the preservation of its 
name." (See lOfch Connecticut Keports, p. 339.) 

The judgment of the lower court was reversed, and Miss 
Crandall resumed her school, but it was finally broken up 
by violence and arson. 

What Massachusetts Did. 

In 1835, William Lloyd Garrison, while addressing a 
Boston audience in opposition to slavery, was seized by 
what is known as the broad-cloth mob, a rope was thrown 
round his body and he was dragged through the principal 
streets of that city, for no other offense than having raised 
his voice against the institution of slavery. 

In the same city, in 1837, in a meeting which had been 
called at Faneuil Hall, to denounce the murder of Elijah 
P. Lovejoy at Alton, as a monstrous crime, James T. Aus- 
tin, then the Attorney- General of that State, made a vio- 
lent speech in justification of the murder. (See History of 
—22 



338 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Massachusetts.) If such things could take place in en- 
lightened ( !) Massachusetts, far remote from slavery and its 
debasing inflaences, Illinois, with two slave States for 
neighbors, will certainly be excused for the part she 
took in opposing the liberty or civil rights of the colored 
man. 

What the Nation Did. 

But far more remarkable is the fact that the feeling of 
the people of the United States was so intense against the 
abolitionist or friend of the negro, that President Jackson, 
a brave, good man, renowned for his ability and moral 
courage, felt called upon to recommend to Congress in his 
message of December 7, 1835, the passage of an act for 
excluding from the mails abolition newspapers and publi- 
cations, and a bill was introduced into the Senate, in 1836, 
for that purpose. When it was under discussion in com- 
mittee of the whole, on June 2, Mr. Calhoun, Senator from 
South Carolina, introduced an amendment providing for 
burning or otherwise destroying such papers or documents, 
which was adopted, but when, on June 9, the bill came 
up for final passage, it was lost, by a vote of 19 ayes ta 
25 noes. The Illinois Senators, Kent and Ewing, voted 
against the bill. Henry Clay, Senator from Kentucky, a 
slave State, voted against the bill, while James Buchanan, 
afterward President of the United States, from the free 
State of Pennsylvania, voted for the bill. 

In further extenuation of the position occupied by Illi- 
nois as regards the rights of the negro, we cite the fact 
that, notwithstanding the Declaration of Independence 
declared that all men are created equal, from the First 
Congress, which convened March 4, 1789, under the Con- 
stitution of "the more perfect Union," to the Thirty- 
sixth, which met December 5, 1859, there was no legis- 
lation which tended to improve the condition of the 
colored race ; and as late as December, 1856, the Supreme 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 339 

Court rendered an opinion, the most elaborate ever written 
by that body, which solemnly declared that the negro had 
no rights under the laws of the land, which white men 
were bound to observe. Under these circumstances it is not 
to be wondered at that Illinois should have been blind upon 
the subject; but when the emancipation proclamation 
gave the colored man his liberty, and the thirteenth, 
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the National 
Constitution secured him equal rights and protection with 
the white man, under the laws of the land, Illinois was 
quick to repeal all laws which created a distinction be- 
tween the races; and on February 7, 1865, the Legisla- 
ture passed an act repealing the black laws of 1853, and 
those on the statutes of 1845. In the constitution of 1870 
was omitted the word white, and in 1874 the Legislature 
passed an act giving colored children equal rights with the 
white in the public schools. And now there is none to 
molest or make afraid the colored man on account of 
race, color, or previous condition. 

Transition from Slavery to Freedom. 

The transition of the colored man from the position of a slave 
or menial to that of a citizen of the United States, was so 
rapid as not always to leave upon his mind a proper idea 
of his relation to society, politics or the Government itself ; 
and there has been some disposition to claim more rights 
and privileges than are contemplated in the laws which 
gave him his freedom and citizenship, chief among which 
is the demand for office. Now it must be borne in mind 
that the Constitution of the United States does not recog- 
nize as a qualification to ofi&ce any particular race. A 
person is not elected Senator or Eepresentative to Con- 
gress because he is an Englishman, Irishman, Frenchman 
or German, but because he is a citizen of the United 
States, by birth or adoption, and has attained the proper 



340 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

age, and possesses the moral and intellectual qualifications 
to entitle him to occupy the trust. The thirteenth, four- 
teenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of 
the United States did not change the principles governing 
this question in the least. As a rule, men are chosen to 
high positions of public trust because of their fitness, and 
not because of their race or nationality. If the colored 
man would enjoy a share in the public trusts of the State 
or Nation, he must fit himself, by education and moral 
training, to entitle him to recognition in the government 
of the country. A greedy scramble or clamor for office 
under the threat that if these people are not given place 
and power they will set up a party for themselves, will 
tend only to prolong the time when their right to ask for 
a voice in guiding the affairs of the country will be heard. 
There is too great an odds between 6,000,000 colored peo- 
ple and 44,000,000 white, for them to think of drawing 
the color line, in a political sense. It is not out of place, 
however, in this connection, to say that many colored 
men have been given high and honorable trusts in the 
governments of the States and the Nation since their en- 
franchisement, but in most cases because of their fitness 
to hold the trusts. In some of the Southern States col- 
ored men have been elected to the office of Governor, 
while in others they have been chosen Senators and Re- 
presentatives in the General Assemblies, and Senators and 
Representatives in Congress ; and in Kansas, an original 
free State, a colored man has been elected Secretary of 
State. In Illinois, the colored people have made a very 
good start in regard to the advancement of their race, 
and identified with the prominent business interests of the 
State are found many active, intelligent colored men ; and 
in all the callings or pursuits of life they are beginning 
to take front places. In the ministry there are not a few 
eminent men, while in the professions of law and medicine 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 341 

there are some who have attained prominence ; and 
in the arts, we call to mind Dennis Williams, an artist 
at Springfield, whose portraits of some of our distin- 
guished statesmen have gained celebrity throughout the 
State. In political affairs, John J. Bird, of Cairo, was 
the first colored person to receive recognition from the 
Executive of the State. Gov. Beveridge appointed him 
one of the Trustees of the Industrial University at Cham- 
paign. Mr. Bird was twice elected Police Magistrate of 
Cairo, first in 1873 and again in 1877. J. W. E. Thomas, 
of Chicago, has been twice a member of the House of 
Eepresentatives ; he served in that body in 1877, and 
again in 1883; and times without number colored men 
have held subordinate positions in the various depart- 
ments of State — all of which goes to show that there 
exists no disposition to keep the colored man in check in 
the race of life. 

Of the colored men of Illinois who deserve more than 
a passing notice, is the late John Jones, of Chicago, who 
was born in North Carolina, in 1816 ; he came to Illinois 
in 1841, settling at Alton, where he married Mary Rich- 
ardson, and soon after removed to Chicago. There he 
accumulated property, and so conducted himself as to win 
the respect of the community, and was well-known among 
the prominent anti-slavery men of the country, long before 
the war. John Brown was a frequent visitor at his house, 
and the escaped slave, in his perilous journey to Canada, 
often found refuge and protection under his hospitable 
roof. The last time John Brown was his guest, he was 
on his way to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, to commence an 
active raid against slavery, and for which offense he was 
tried, condemned and hung. On that occasion he said 
to Mr. Jones that he would advise him to lay in a good 
supply of cotton, sugar and tobacco, for he was going to 
"raise their price." 



342 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

After the emancipation proclamation, and adoption of 
the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, Mr. Jones wrote and spoke with much power in 
behalf of the repeal of the black laws, and the enactment 
of such laws as would give his people equal civil and 
political rights with the whites; and when the colored 
man was enfranchised, Mr. Jones was one of the first in 
the State to be elected to an office. He was twice elected 
one of the Commissioners of Cook county, from Chicago, 
and served each time with Carter Harrison, the present 
Mayor. 

After a long and useful life, he died on the 21st of 
May, 1879, leaving a widow and one child. His estate 
was valued at $70,000. 

Mrs. Jones' father was a resident of Alton at the time 
of the murder of Eev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, and Mrs. Jones 
was then a girl of some fifteen years. She vividly remem- 
bers the tragedy, and the sad and silent little funeral 
procession which followed his remains to the burial ground, 
for it passed by her father's house. 

Whipped and Ordered from the State. 

Notwithstanding Illinois was consecrated to freedom, she 
has had, from first to last, many pro-slavery citizens, and 
among the towns in which resided some of the more out- 
spoken, was Griggsville, Pike county. An Abolitionist 
had few friends there ; indeed he was regarded as a person 
beneath the respect of the people. In 1845, during the agita- 
tion of the question of annexing Texas to the United States, 
a stranger happened into the town on the evening of a meet- 
ing of the Lyceum, and after the business hour had passed 
he stated that he had a petition which he would be glad to have 
those present sign, and quite a number attached their names 
without knowing its real object; but next morning, after the 
stranger had taken his departure, it became known to the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 343 

leading pro-slavery men that it was a petition for the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, when the 
stranger was followed, the petition taken from him and he 
whipped and commanded to leave the State without de- 
lay. An effort was subsequently made to compel every 
signer to withdraw his name, which they all did, with the 
exception of 0. M. Hatch and Nathan French, and the 
latter was hotly pursued to the store of Stame & Alex- 
ander, where he obtained an axe-helve and prepared to 
defend himself to the last extremity. In the meantime, 
John M. Palmer, then the Yankee clock peddler, coming 
in at the rear entrance, handed French a pistol, saying 
at the same time, "defend yourself with that," and with 
these weapons Mr. French succeeded in driving away his 
assailants. 

A Case of Kidnapping. 

In 1845, Joseph Dobbs, of Tennessee, a man of educa- 
tion and refinement, inherited some eight or ten families 
of slaves, numbering in all about forty persons, but being 
opposed to slavery he removed with them to Illinois, set- 
tling in Pope county, where he bought for each head of 
a family a small tract of land on which to begin life, and 
gave to all their free papers. Mr. Dobbs was a bachelor, 
and spent much of his time in looking after the interests 
of his colored colony with almost as much tenderness as 
though they had been his own children. In the spring 
of 1846, three of the most likely children were stolen by 
Joseph Vaughn and his band and taken to Missouri and 
sold into slavery. Vaughn was a great outlaw, and when 
it became known that the children had been run off and 
sold into slavery, the better citizens of Pope county re- 
solved to secure their return at any cost, and Dr. William 
Sim, Maj. John Raum, Judge Wesley Sloan and Philip 
Vineyard offered a reward of |500 for their apprehension. 



344 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

William Khodes, sherifif of the county, volunteered to go 
in search of the children, whom he found in Missouri* 
and returned them to their parents. Vaughn was afterward 
indicted for the offense, but he endeavored to shift the 
responsibility upon certain members of his gang, who 
retaliated by poisoning him, from the effects of which he 
died. The prejudice against persons befriending colored 
people was not so great in Pope county then as in some 
other localities of the State, and Mr. Khodes was elected 
the same year as a Eepresentative to the Fifteenth Gen- 
eral Assembly from the counties of Pope and Hardin ; he 
died January 4, 1847, while a member, and was buried at 
Springfield. Mr. Dobbs died the latter part of 1847, and 
willed his entire property to the colored people to whom 
he had vouchsafed the boon of liberty. 

Tribulations of Free Negroes. 

The public records of Illinois show many curious things 

regarding the treatment of free colored persons, before 

the emancipation of slavery. We obtained the following 

from the record kept by John Raum, Probate Judge of 

Pope county: 

" STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) 
" Pope County. f ^^' 

"The people of the State of Illinois, to the sheriff of 
said county, greeting: We command you to receive the 
body of Ned Wright, a negro, who has been brought be- 
fore me, and on being examined is not found to have 
free papers; he is, therefore, committed to your charge, 
to be dealt with according to law. 

" Given under my hand and seal, this 19th day of 
April, A. D. 1847. 

"John Eaum, P. J. P. Co. (Seal.)" 

This is only one of hundreds of a similar character 
found upon that record. In order that our readers may 
understand the purport of this order, we copy from the 
Eevised Statutes of 1845, page 388, Chapter 74, Section 
5, of the law governing such proceedings: 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 345 

" Section 5. Every black or mulatto person who shall 
be found in this State, and not having such a certificate 
as is required by this chapter, shall be deemed a runaway 
slave or servant, and it shall be lawful for any inhabitant 
of this State to take such black or mulatto person before 
some justice of the peace, and should such black or mu- 
latto person not produce such certificate as aforesaid, it 
shall be the duty of such justice to cause such black or 
mulatto person to be committed to the custody of the 
sheriff of the county, who shall keep such black or mu- 
latto person, and in three days after receiving him shall 
advertise him, at the court house door, and shall transmit 
a notice, and cause the same to be advertised for six 
weeks in some public newspaper printed nearest to the 
place of apprehending such black person or mulatto, 
stating a description of the most remarkable features of 
the supposed runaway, and if such person so committed 
shall not produce a certificate or other evidence of his free- 
dom, within the time aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the 
sheriff to hire him out for the best price he can get, after 
having given five days' previous notice thereof, from month 
to month, for the space of one year; and if no owner 
shall appear to substantiate his claim before the expira- 
tion of the year, the sheriff shall give a certificate to such 
black or mulatto person, who, on producing the same to 
the next circuit court of the county, may obtain a cer- 
tificate from the court, stating the facts, and the person 
shall be deemed a free person, unless he shall be lawfully 
claimed by his proper owner or owners thereafter. And 
as a reward to the taker up of such negro, there shall be 
paid by the owner, if any, before he shall receive him 
from the sheriff, ten dollars, and the owner shall pay to 
the sheriff for the justice two dollars, and reasonable 
costs for taking such runaway to the sheriff, and also 
pay the sheriff all fees for keeping such runaway, as 
other prisoners : Provided, however, that the proper owner, 
if any there be, shall be entitled to the hire of any 
such runaway from the sheriff, after deducting the ex- 
penses of the same : And, provided also, that the taker-up 
shall have a right to claim any reward which the owner 
shall have offered for the apprehension of such runaway. 
Should any taker-up claim any such offered reward, he 
shall not be entitled to the allowance made by this sec- 
tion." 



346 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

It will be observed that, after all this circumlocution, 
there was nothing in the certificate of freedom. But lest 
some of our readers should be curious to know how a 
negro became free at all, we will say that there were not 
infrequently persons in the slave States who, becoming 
convinced of the injustice and wickedness of the institu- 
tion, would manumit their slaves, but the laws of the 
slave States required the owner to remove them to the 
free States. Sometimes, as was the case with Gov. Coles, 
the owner would buy homes for his slaves and become 
their bondsman. In this way many freedmen became 
residents of the several free States, and naturally migra- 
ted from one free State to another, believing that they 
had a right so to do, but the police regulations were so 
unjust and arbitrary in Illinois, that they experienced great 
trouble in establishing a residence in the State; and it 
was not an uncommon thing for such persons to be kid- 
napped and sold into slavery, nothwithstanding they might 
have had their certificates of freedom, for they had no 
redress in the courts. 

A Free Boy's Experience. 
In 1859, a colored boy, who had been born in Ohio, 
wandered into Illinois with the hope of bettering his con- 
dition financially, but not finding in the broad prairie 
State what had been pictured to him, he bent his way to 
St. Louis, unmindful that the laws of Missouri were un- 
friendly to his race. But he had hardly set foot in that 
city before he was arrested and taken before an officer, 
who sentenced him to receive " 500 lashes for being a 
free-born negro in the State without a pass." Just as he 
was being removed to the place of punishment, Captain 
George Stackpole, a steamboatman of Cincinnati, entered 
the court room and demanded the release of the boy on 
the pretext that he was an employe of his boat. The 
word " lashes " the boy had not heard when his sentence 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 347 

■was pronounced, and did not understand what was to be 
done with liim until told by his deliverer, who had known 
him in Ohio. The boy little knew that while he had so 
narrowly escaped a vile punishment in Missouri, in free 
Illinois he had been but little better off. That boy's name 
was Joseph Pleasants, and our informant says he is now 
an industrious citizen of Peoria. 

Last Attempt to Eeturn a Slave. 

About the last effort to return a slave from this State 
to his master, under the fugitive slave law, was made at 
Shawneetown in the latter part of 1862. It was reported 
that there was a fugitive from labor harbored at the house 
of Stephen E. Eowan, a prominent citizen, but who was 
then, known as a Black Eepublican, whereupon a few pro- 
slavery men were called together for the purpose of deter- 
mining upon measures for the return of the fugitive at any 
cost. At that time the Confederates had possession of that 
part of Kentucky near Shawneetown, and frequent threats 
had been made to sack and burn the town. Under these 
circumstances, this meeting was not altogether harmoni- 
ous, there being one spirit among the number bold enough 
to protest against the return of the slave, and strong 
enough to deter the others from molesting Mr. Eowan in 
the possession of the supposed fugitive slave. 

Teials op Contrabands. 

The reader has been made aware that prior to the 
emancipation proclamation colored persons could not per- 
manently settle in Illinois without first giving bond that 
they would not become charges upon the State. Here is, 
perhaps, the last instrument of the kind executed in Illi- 
nois. It was made at the time slaves were known as 
"contrabands of war," and the colored person in question 
was brought from Cairo to Shawneetown to be employed 
in the family of her bondsman, as a servant : 



348 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"Know all men by these presents, that we, Caroline 
Sanders and James B. Turner, of Shawneetown, Illinois, 
are held and firmly bound unto the People of the State 
of Illinois, for the use of Gallatin county, in the sum of 
one thousand dollars, good and lawful money of the 
United States, to be paid to said State for the use of said 
county, to which payment well and truly to be made we 
bind ourselves, our heirs and administrators firmly by 
these presents. Sealed with our seals, and dated this 1st 
day of September, 1862. 

"The condition of this is such, that whereas, the above 
bounden Caroline Sanders is a free person of color, at 
least she asserts herself to be free, and is desirous of 
settling in Gallatin county, Illinois : Now if the said Car- 
oline Sanders shall not at any time become a charge to 
said county, or to any other county in the State, as a 
poor person, and shall at all times demean herself in 
strict conformity of the laws now enacted and that may 
hereafter be enacted in this State, then this obligation to 
be void, otherwise to be and remain in full force and 
effect. 

her 

"Caroline x Sanders, (seal.) 

mark. 

"James B. Turner, (seal.) 
" Signed and sealed in the presence of 

"Mary A. Eicheson." 

"State op Illinois, ) 
Gallatin County, j * 
" I, Silas Cook, county clerk of the county and State afore- 
said, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a 
true and correct copy of the original bond now on tile in 
my office. Given under mv hand and official seal, this 
20th day of April, A. D. 1883. 

" Silas Cook, 

"County Clerk." 

Many of our readers will be surprised to learn that the 
prejudice of the times was so great against the mere idea 
of taking slave property under any circumstances, as to 
compel the return of this contraband to the official from 
whom she was received. 

Another case, something similar in character, occurred 
at Harrisburg, Saline county, in the same year. Dr. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 349 

John W. Mitchell, one of the earliest Kepublicans in the 
State, had brought two families of contrabands from 
Cairo, and put them upon his farm, a few miles distant 
from Harrisburg. They had hardly located in their new 
home before the news spread like wild-fire among the pro- 
slavery men, "that the laws of Illinois were being set at 
defiance by the introduction of negroes into the county," 
and a large mass-meeting was soon held at the court 
house in Harrisburg, to cause their removal. Several 
violent speeches were made, in which Dr. Mitchell was 
bitterly denounced, and resolutions were passed strongly 
condemning him for bringing the contrabands into the 
community, and a committee was appointed to notify him 
to return them to Cairo within a given time, or suffer the 
consequences. In the meantime, Mitchell, being advised 
of the action of the meeting, had taken the precaution to 
prepare himself for any emergency, which, coming to the 
ears of the committee, they refrained from carrying out 
the instructions of the meeting. As the contrabands were 
not removed, a second meeting was held — and a similar 
performance gone through with — and the threat was boldly 
made that if Mitchell did not return the contrabands his 
life and property would be destroyed. But time passed, 
and Mitchell bravely stood his ground. This second fail- 
ure to drive him into measures caused better counsels to 
prevail, and when the Circuit Court convened he was 
simply indicted under the " black laws" of the State; 
and that indictment remained upon the records of the 
Circuit Court of Saline county long after the war, not- 
withstanding the repeal of the black laws in 1865. In 
fact it was not disposed of until the present State Con- 
stitution, which omitted the word "white," came into 
effect, when it was stricken from the docket. We appre- 
hend that many of the persons who took part in the 



350 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

ill-advised proceedings would be ashamed to see their names 
in these pages, and we therefore spare them that mortifi- 
cation. But such is history. 

Mobbed on Account of His Vote. 

The intolerance of certain pro-slavery men in the south 
part of the State was very great during the war, and they 
therefore committed many acts of folly. In the proposed 
Constitution, which was formed in 1862, was an Article 
which prohibited the emigration of free negroes or mu- 
lattoes into the State. It was submitted to a separate 
vote of the people. Eev. W. V. Eldridge, of Golconda, 
cast the only vote polled in Pope county against this 
Article. This greatly incensed his pro-slavery neighbors, 
and on the following Sunday they assembled in the form 
of a mob at a church in the country, where Eldridge had 
an appointment, and attempted to prevent him from 
preaching; but the men and women of his congregation 
rallied to his support, and put the mob to flight. But a 
marvelous change in political sentiment has taken place 
in that community. Mr. Eldridge has had the honor to 
represent the district in the General Assembly, and at 
this time is County Judge of Pope county. 

First Coloeed School. 

The first attempt to establish a school for colored chil- 
dren in this State was made at Shawneetown, after the 
proclamation of freedom, by Miss Sarah Curtis, of Evans- 
ville, Ind. After a hard struggle she obtained a small 
room in which to open her school, and for a time she 
taught with great energy and apparent satisfaction, but 
she was so ostracised by white women that after a few 
months she gave up the work in utter disgust, and re- 
turned to her former home. 



politics and politicians of illinois. 351 

Blood-Hounds. 

Many of our readers will learn with surprise that before 
the war colored men, attempting to escape into free ter- 
ritory, were hunted down by the aid of blood-hounds ; but 
such is the fact. William Belford, of Golconda, was one 
of many men, in Illinois, who made their living by catch- 
ing and returning runaway slaves. He kept a favorite 
blood-hound for this purpose, and was often seen upon 
the highway, on horseback, with it sitting in his lap. It 
is said by those who knew him well, that he thought more 
of this hound than he did of his own children. During 
the war he was, naturally, a violent rebel, and was often 
embroiled in quarrels with his neighbors, in regard to the 
conduct of the war, as waged by the National authorities, 
and in one of these met his death, at the hands of Wm. 
Whiteside, of Golconda, in 1864. 

Colored Jueors. 

It has been a difficult matter for the white people along 
the Ohio river to overcome their prejudice against aUow- 
iug colored people equal civil rights with themselves. As 
late as 1880, James A. Rose, County Attorney of Pope 
county, was assaulted in the streets of Golconda, for 
allowing a colored person to sit on a jury. The person 
who assailed him was one of the jurors, and was not 
aware that a colored man had sat with him until after 
the case had been decided and the jury discharged. The 
colored juror was a bright mulatto, ajid had not infre- 
quently been mistaken for a white man. 

Adoption of Amendments. 

The Thirteenth amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States, which declared that "neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, 



352 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall 
exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction," was adopted by the Legislature of 
Illinois, February 1, 1865. 

The Fourteenth amendment, which guaranteed to the 
colored man citizenship, was adopted by the Legislature 
of Illinois, January 15, 1867. 

The Fifteenth amendment, which enfranchised the col- 
ored race, was adopted by the Legislature of Illinois, 
March 5, 1869. 

The Constitutional Convention of 1870 framed the State 
Constitution so as to conform to these amendments. 

First Colored Vote Cast in Cairo. 

At the first election in Cairo, after the enfranchisement 
of colored men, Patrick Kelly, a Democrat, armed himself 
and declared that he would shoot the first "nigger" who 
attempted to vote in his ward, which was largely inhab- 
ited by colored people. As a matter of course, the colored 
men were anxious to exercise the right of suffrage, and 
had assembled in large numbers at the polls ; but hours 
passed, and yet nobody seemed willing to dispute the 
authority of Kelly, until Col. W. R. Brown, of Metropolis, 
then on duty in the collector's ofdce at Cairo, asked P. 
H. Pope to select for him a colored man whom he knew 
to be a citizen and entitled to vote, and he would see that 
he voted. John Evans was selected, and Mr. Brown 
marched him to the polls, and his ballot was recorded 
without interference on the part of Mr. Kelly. This was 
taken as the signal for a general ruoh to the polls, and 
many colored men voted in rapid succession without 
the slightest objection by anybody, when Kelly walked 
away in utter disgust, uttering words of execration upon 
the "d — d nigger government." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 353 

We have been induced to speak of such incidents as 
are here recorded to show how deeply seated were the 
prejudices of the people of Illinois against the intellectual 
or political advancement of the colored race. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 
ABOUT WOMEN. 



Mrs. Juliet C. Raum— Mrs. Catherine Wilson— Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln— Mrs. 
Mary S. Logan— Women Lawyers— Women School Offlcers— Women 
Notaries Public— How Long will it be Before They can Vote? 



Mrs. Juliet C. Eaum. 

During the war for the Union, many able and eminent 
women were brought upQn the stage of action, and con- 
tributed greatly to the success of our arms. We speak 
here of one whose influence and energy were largely ex- 
ercised in the cause of her country. Her name is Juliet 
C. Kaum of Golconda, wife of Maj. John Raum, who served 
in the Black Hawk war, and mother of Gen. Green B. 
and Maj. John M. Raum. At the time the war was de- 
clared, her husband, who had reached his three score and 
ten, was too far advanced in the infirmities of life to take 
the active part his patriotism prompted, but she took, as 
it were, his place, and in her broad, generous nature was 
ever busy, speaking words of cheer to the departing sol- 
dier, caring for the family left behind, or visiting the bat- 
tle field to look after the wounded and dying. In her 
sphere she exercised as much power for good in the hour 
of her country's peril as did any single individual during 
that long and bloody conflict. She died in 1872, but her 
—23 



854 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

name will live in the community in which she exerted her 
influence for generations to come, and none who knew her 
well can read this paragraph without shedding a tear to 
her memory. 

Catherine Wilson. 

Mrs. Catherine Wilson, wife of the late Harry Wilson, 
who was Ensign in the War of 1812, and Captain in the 
Black Hawk war, was a resident of Shawneetown in 1861, 
when President Lincoln called for 75,000 troops. She had 
three sons, James H., Henry S., and Bluford — on whom 
she depended to some extent for protection and support, 
but with true womanly devotion to her country's flag, she 
willingly yielded to the inclination of her sons to enter 
the army, and it is our pleasure to say that she lived to 
see them all return from their country's service wearing 
honorable titles as rewards for gallant conduct upon the 
battle field. James H. Wilson was a graduate of West 
Point, and on duty at Fort Vancouver when the war be- 
gan, but was soon sent to the front, where he distinguished 
himself, and came home w^th the rank of Major-General 
of Volunteers, and Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army. 
Henry S. and Bluford volunteered as privates and both 
received commissions as Major. 

After the war, Gen. Wilson, famiharly known as Gen. 
Harry Wilson, was placed, by reason of his eminent abil- 
ity as a Civil Engineer, in charge of the Government work 
of improving the Mississisppi river at Davenport, Iowa, 
and of the Illinois river, and the enlargement of the lUi- 
nois and Michigan Canal ; but he resigned his commission 
as Lieutenant- Colonel in the regular army in 1869, since 
which time he has been actively engaged in building rail- 
roads in this and other States. In company with his old 
army friend Gen. E. F. Winslow, Joseph J. Castles, 0. 
Pool, S. K. Casey, T. S. Casey, and others, he built the 
St. Louis and Southeastern Kailway, which is now a part 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 355 

of the through line between St. Louis and Nashville. The 
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad, which had been projected 
many years previous, was finally built by Wilson and 
Winslow, and the Air Line Road from Louisville, via 
Evansville and Mt. Carmel, over a portion of the line pro- 
jected in 1837, was built through the instrumentality of 
Gen. Harry Wilson. 

When Gen. Grant was President he appointed Maj. Blu- 
ford Wilson U. S. District Attorney for the Southern Dis- 
trict of Illinois, and from this he was promoted to Solici- 
tor of the Treasury. He was an able and faithful pub- 
lic servant, and is entitled to no little credit for the part 
he took in breaking up the great whisky frauds which 
gained so much prominence from 1873 to 1876. 

Maj. Henry S. Wilson lost his life at Shawneetown in 
1873, by accidental drowning. 

Their mother died in the spring of 1877 at the ripe 
age of 73, in the full enjoyment of all her faculties, sur- 
rounded by her affectionate family. 

Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln. 
No history of Illinois would be complete without a word 
in memory of Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the mar- 
tyred President. She was the third daughter of Robert 
S. Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky, a descendent of a distin- 
guished family, which was wide-spread in Virginia and 
Kentucky. Mrs. Lincoln was born December 13, 1818; 
was educated at Lexington, at the noted school ol 
Mme. Mentille, of France, and after the death of her 
mother, came to Illinois, making her home at Spring- 
field, with her accomplished sister, Mrs. Ninian W. 
Edwards, until her marriage with Mr. Lincoln, which 
occurred November 4, 1842. They had born unto them 
four children, Robert T., Edward Baker, William W. and 
Thomas, all of whom are dead except the first named. Ed- 
ward Baker died at Springfield, February 1, 1850 ; William 



356 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

W., at Washington, D. C, February 20, 1862 ; and Thomas, 
at Chicago, July 15, 1871. Of Mrs. Liacohi it is said, by 
those who knew her best, that before her life was blighted 
by the assassination of her husband, she was a woman 
of rare brilliancy of mind, gifted in conversation, winning 
in manner, and withal kind and courteous ; and we do not 
know that we can better state the situation as regards 
her after-life than to quote a passage from the sermon 
delivered by Rev. James A. Reed, on the occasion of her 
funeral, in which he eloquently and tenderly portrays the 
sadness and sorrow which clouded her pathway: 

" Years ago, Abraham Lincoln placed a ring on the 
finger of Mary Todd, inscribed with these words : ' Love 
is eternal.' Like two stately trees they grew up among 
us in the nobler, sw^eeter fellowship of wedded life. The 
twain became one flesh. Here they planted their home, 
and, in domestic bliss, their olive plants grew up around 
them. Here they were known and honored and loved by 
an appreciative and admiring community, and when peril- 
ous limes came, and the Nation looked forth among the 
people for a steady hand to guide the ship of State, its 
heart went out after this tall and stately man that walked 
like a prince among us. He was their choice, and ascend- 
ing to the chief place in the Nation's gift, he stood like 
some tall cedar amid the storm of National strife, and 
with a heroism and a wisdom and a lofty prudence in his 
administration that won the wonder and respect of the 
world, he guided the Nation through its peril, back again 
to peace. But when at the height of his fame, when a 
grateful people were lauding him with just acknowledgment 
of his great services to the country, and when he was 
wearily trying to escape from their very adulation into 
the restful presence and company of his life partner, to be 
alone awhile in the hour of his triumphant joy, like light- 
ning, the flash of a cruel and cowardly enemy's wrath 
struck him down by her side. The voice that cheered a 
Nation in its darkest hour is hushed. The beauty of Is- 
rael is slain upon the high places. The Nation in its 
grief and consternation is driven almost to madness ; 
strong men know not hardly how to assuage their sorrow 
or control themselves under it ; and when the Nation so 
felt the shock, what must it have been to the poor woman 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 357 

that stood by his side, who was the sharer of his joys, 
the partner of his sorrows, whose heart-strings were Avound 
about his great heart in that seal of eternal love ; what 
wonder if the shock of that sad hour, that made a Nation 
reel, should leave a tender, loving woman, shattered in 
body and in mind, to walk softly all her days. It is no 
reflection upon either the strength of her mind or the 
tenderness of her heart, to say that when Abraham Lin- 
coln died, she died. The lightning that struck down the 
strong man, unnerved the woman. The sharp iron of the 
pungent grief went to her soul. The terrible shock, with 
its quick following griefs in the death of her children, left 
her mentally and physically a wreck, as it might have 
left any of us in the same circumstances. I can only 
think of Mrs. Lincoln as a dying woman through all these 
sad years of painful sorrow through which she has ling- 
ered since the death of her husband. It is not only char- 
itable but just to her native mental qualities and her 
noble womanly nature, that we think of her and speak of 
her as the woman she was before the victim of these great 
sorrows. Drawing the veil over all these years of failing 
health of body and mind, which have been spent in seek- 
ing rest from sorrow in quiet seclusion from the world, I 
shall speak of her only as the woman she was before her 
noble husband fell a martyr by her side." 

Mrs. Lincoln's death occurred at the residence of her 

sister, Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards, July 16, 1882, and her 

remains lie beside those of her husband and children 

within the Lincoln monument, whither they were followed 

by the State ofl&cers and many sorrowing relatives and 

friends. 

Mrs. Mary S. Logan. 

One of the great women of Illinois, who has shed lustre 
upon her sex, is Mrs. Mary S. Logan, wife of Gen. John 
A. Logan, who was born August 15, 1838, in Petersburg, 
Missouri, a town now extinct. She was a daughter of John 
M. and Elizabeth Cunningham; she was educated at St. 
Vincent Academy, Union county, Kentucky, and was 
married at Shawneetown, November 27, 1855. Mrs. 
Logan, has always been a noted woman in society, and 



358 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

whether as the wife of the young lawyer, the great soldier, 
or the able senator, she has been the same noble, pure 
woman ; and has ever stood by the side of her husband 
in the battle of life ; and whether in peace or war she 
has been his most able and trusty adviser — and during all 
the years she has occupied so conspicuous a place in the 
eyes of the Nation, she has never lost her place in the 
affections of her sex. 

Women Lawyers. 

The courts and law-makers of Illinois have been some- 
what tardy in according to women their natural rights. 
Until 1872, neither married nor single women were ad- 
mitted to the bar. In 1868, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, publisher 
of the Chicago Legal News, after passing a creditable 
examination, made application to the court to be admitted 
to the legal profession, but her application was refused, 
on the ground that she was a married woman. Mrs. Brad- 
well brought suit in the courts to test the validity of the 
decision, and it was finally carried to the Supreme Court, 
which sustained the lower courts. 

Miss Alta M. Hulett was the next woman to apply for 
admission to the bar, but her application was treated, on 
account of her womanhood, with silence. 

In 1872, through the instrumentality of these ladies, an 
act was passed by the General Assembly, which declared 
that no person should be debarred from any occupation, 
profession or employment on account of sex. Under this 
act they were both admitted to the bar, and were the first 
and only women lawyers in the State until 1884, when 
Miss Bessie Bradwell, a daughter of Judge James B. and 
Myra BradweU, graduated at the Union College of Law, 
Chicago. She was valedictorian in a class of fifty-five, 
and Judge Booth, dean of the college, in his address to 
the class, paid a high tribute to her merit, and wished 
her a successful future in the profession. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 359 

Miss Kate Kane, of Wisconsin, was admitted to practice 
law in the Supreme Court, at Ottawa, in March, 1884, on 
a foreign license. 

Women School Officers. 
The first recognition of the law-makers of Illinois to 
women as public servants, was the passage of an act in 
1873, allowing women, married or single, of the age of 21 
years, to hold any office under the general or special 
school laws in this State. Nine women were chosen 
County Superintendents at the ensuing November election, 
whose names are as follows : Phoebe A. Taylor, Alexan- 
der county; Mrs. Mary E. Crary, Boone; Miss Mary S. 
Welch, DeW^itt; Mrs. Cath. Hopkins, Greene; Nettie M. 
Sinclair, Kankakee ; Mary Ellen West, Knox ; Amanda A. 
Frazier, Mercer ; Mary W. Whiteside, Peoria ; Sarah C. 
Mcintosh, Will; Mary L. Carpenter, Winnebago. 

Women Notaries Public. 

In 1875, an act was passed by the General Assembly 
rendering women eligible to the office of notary public. 
The law went into effect July 1, and Mrs. Annie Fitzhugh 
Ousley was the first woman to receive a commission, 
which was given her by Governor Beveridge, on that day, 
and on the same day he issued commissions to six women, 
from Cook county, namely: Lucy A. Bunting, Helen 
Culver, Lucy M. Gaylord, Alice C. Nute, Sarah A. Eichards 
and Caroline Wescott, since which time many commis- 
sions have been issued to women in different counties of 
the State, and it is now no uncommon thing to see legal 
instruments bearing the notarial seal of a woman. 

In 1879, at the instance of the Women's Christian Tem- 
perance Union, a bill was introduced in both houses of 
the General Assembly, proposing an amendment to the 
constitution allowing women the right to vote on all 



860 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

questions relating to the control of the liquor traffic ; but 
it failed in both. In 1881, the subject was again brought 
before that body, with no better success. 

How Long will it be Before They Can Vote? 

It remains to be seen whether women who have mastered 
the arts and sciences ; who fill the professions ; who keep 
the cash account of the largest mercantile houses in our 
great cities, or the mother who moulds the character of 
the man, shall ever, in the minds of the statesmen of 
Illinois, know enough to know how to exercise the right 
of suffrage ! Women and Chinamen are the only classes 
of mankind in Illinois who are not allowed the privilege 
of the ballot. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 
ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD. 



When the war for the Union ensued, the State was with- 
out an effective military organization; indeed Governor 
Yates found the law under which the military power of 
the State was to be brought into requisition, so faulty as 
to be almost useless, and he relied mainly on the pres- 
ence of the soldiers of the National Government to pre- 
serve the peace of the State and prevent its invasion from 
without. Since then the General Assembly has amply 
provided the legislation necessary to bring into existence 
a most excellent military system, which is styled the Illi- 
nois National Guard, whose total strength of men and 
officers was, according to the official report of Adjutant- 
General Elliott, on the Ist of January, 1884, 4,847. The 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 361 

efficiency of the National Guard in preserving law and 
order, has not infrequently been attested ; but in the great 
strike of railroad employees in 1877, which permeated all 
the States, its service in protecting life and property was 
incalculable. In Chicago, Peoria, Springfield, Galesburg, 
Rock Island, Decatur and East St. Louis, the mob threat- 
ened devastation, and but for the timely presence of the 
Illinois soldiery, the scenes at Pittsburg would have been 
re-enacted at Chicago and East St. Louis, and millions 
of dollars' worth of property would have been laid in 
ashes, and many lives made a sacrifice to the madness 
of the hour. 

The Guard is composed of two brigades, of which the 
following is a partial roster: 

John M. Hamilton, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 

Brigadier-General J. W. Vance, Adjutant-General. 

FiKST Brigade- -Headquarters at Chicago. 

Brigadier-General Charles FitzSimons, commanding. 

Lieut.-Col. Chas .S. Diehl, Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Col. E. B. Knox, First Regiment, Chicago. 

Col. W. H. Thompson, Second Regiment, Chicago. 

Col. C. M. Brazee, Third Regiment, Rockford. 

Col. Fred. Bennett, Fourth Regiment, Johet. 

Col. Joel D. Welter, First Regiment Cavalry, Chicago. 

Capt. R. M. Wood, Battery C, Joliet. 

Capt. E.»B. Tobey, Battery D, Chicago. 

Second Brigade — Headquarters at Springfield. 

Brig.-Gen. J. N. Reece, commanding. 
Lieut.-Col. C. F. Mills, Assistant Adjutant-General. 
Col. J. II. Barkley, Fifth Regiment, Spriugtield. 
Col. Wm. Clendenin, Sixth Regiment, Moline. 
Col. C. A. W. Fash. Seventh Regiment, Peoria. 
Col. R. M. Smith, Eighth Regiment, Greenup. 
Col. Louis Krughoif, Ninth Regiment, Nashville. 
Capt. E. Winston, Battery A, Danville. 



862 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER L. 
GREEN B. RAUM. 



Among all the supporters of Senator Douglas for the Presi- 
dency in 1860, there was no more zealous advocate of his 
election than Gen. Green B. Raum, and when the flag of 
his country was assailed, he was as quick to rally to the 
support of his Government as was his great leader, and 
to him belongs the distinguished honor of having made 
the first speech in Southern Illinois in favor of sustain- 
ing the Union by war. The fall of Fort Sumter created a 
profound sensation in this part of the State, as it did all 
over the country. During the political canvass preceding 
the election of President Lincoln, political excitement ran 
high. There was great prejudice against the Republican 
candidates, and nine-tenths of the voters opposed Lincoln 
at the polls. When the secession movement was set on 
foot a number of prominent men in Southern Illinois 
sympathized with it. Its proximity to Kentucky and Mis- 
souri, both slave States, and the free intercourse of the 
people, back and forth, together with the ties of kmship, 
brought the people of these States very closely together, 
and it is not to be wondered at that at the outset there 
should have been a division of sentiment in that great 
crisis. Gen. Raum had from the very commencement of 
the secession movement expressed himself hrmly in favor 
preserving the Union, and when Sumter fell he was 
prompt in declaring himself on the side of the Govern- 
ment. A few days after this event the Circuit Court of 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 363 

Massac county convened, and Gen. Eaum was in attend- 
ance as one of the practicing attorneys. As he passed 
down the Ohio river the rebel flag was seen floating over the 
city of Paducah. He arrived at Metropolis Sunday morn- 
ing, and was met by a number of acquaintances, who 
were anxious to learn his views upon the pending crisis, 
whereupon he freely avowed himself for the Union. 

On Monday morning the town was full of people eager 
to learn the news and to exchange opinions with their 
neighbors. In the evening, an impromptu meeting assem- 
l)led in front of the law office of Green & Smith, and a 
number of persons were called out to express themselves 
on the momentous issue of war. All deprecated war as a 
means of saving the Union, and some took open ground 
against all such measures, declaring their unalterable 
opposition to waging war against their Southern brethren. 
One gentleman declared that he was born in Tennessee ; 
that the bones of his fathers were buried in that State, 
and under no circumstances would he take up arms 
against his kinsmen in an effort to save the Union. 
These sentiments apparently met the hearty approval of 
the assemblage, as they were frequently applauded. At 
last Gen. Raum was called upon for a speech, but as it 
was getting late in the night he stated that he would be 
glad to address them upon the great question before them, 
and would do so at the Court House, the next day at 1 
o'clock. The next day came, and with it a great crowd of 
expectant people, many coming from Paducah, to hear 
the address, for Gen. Raum was widely known in that 
portion of Kentucky. 

At the appointed time. Gen. Raum commenced his 
address, and continued to speak for full two hours. He 
declared the Union perpetual and unbroken; dwelt upon 
its benefits, and the futility of every effort to destroy it. 
He declared it the duty of every citizen to stand by the 



864 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Union as the great palladium of our liberties ; as the only 
hope for the perpetuation of free government ; the only 
maintenance in the future of domestic peace, and for the 
promotion of the welfare, prosperity and happiness of the 
people. He pointed to the Ohio river as a great outlet to 
the sea, and declared that the people of Illinois, occupy- 
ing an interior position, would never consent that the 
navigation of the Mississippi river should ever be dis- 
turbed or its mouth owned by a foreign power. He warned 
the Keutuckians present, that if Kentucky failed in her loy- 
alty to the Union she would become the theatre of war. He 
stated that while he had opposed the election of President 
Lincoln, that in the great emergency, whatever other men 
might do, he had fully made up his mind to give Mr. 
Lincoln's Administration a cordial and earnest support in 
its efforts to save the Union. 

This speech, by the force of its argument, carried the 
audience along from point to point, and finally, when the 
climax was reached and the people were appealed to, to 
rally to the support of Lincoln's Administration as the 
true and only means of saving the Union, it was evident 
that all doubts had been dissipated, and that the people 
saw their way clearly and could hesitate no longer as to 
their duty. Then it was that Gen. Eaum, without seek- 
ing it, met a great emergency, and led the way in South- 
ern Illinois for the people to support the cause of Union 
and liberty. 

Gen. Raum entered the Union army as Major of the 
56th Illinois Infantry, and rose successively to the ranks 
of Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, Brevet Brigadier General, 
and Brigadier General. He served through the siege of 
Corinth, the campaign of Central Mississippi and Yazoo 
Pass, commanded a brigade at the siege and capture of 
Vicksburg, and during the march to the relief of Chatta- 
nooga. At the the battle of Missionary Ridge he was 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 866 

severely wounded, while leading his brigade into action. 
He returned to his command two months later and took 
an active part in the Atlanta campaign. He reinforced 
and successfully defended Resaca, Georgia, when that im- 
portant point in Sherman's line of communications was 
attacked by the whole force of Hood's army, in October, 
1864, and commanded a brigade of the Fifteenth Army 
Corps in the celebrated march to the sea. 

After the close of the war, Gen. Eaum resumed the 
practice of law at Harris burg, and in 1866 he was elected 
to the Fortieth Congress as a Eepublican, defeating Wm. 
J. Allen in a district theretofore overwhelmingly Demo- 
cratic. Afterwards he engaged in railroad enterprises, and 
largely promoted the construction of the Cairo arid Vin- 
cennes railroad, of which he was the first president. 

In the Fall of 1876, there was a strong feeling of un- 
easiness at the National Capital in regard to the outcome 
of the pending Presidential election, and President Grant 
felt it desirable to call around him, in civil capacities, 
some of his' old army associates, upon whose prudence, 
pluck and discretion he knew he could rely in an emer- 
gency. Accordingly, Gen. Raum, among otliers, was sum- 
moned to Washington, and was tendered and accepted the 
position of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

The office, under the condition of things then prevail- 
ing, was a most difHcult one to till successfully. Injudi- 
cious and vacillating legislation as to the amount of tax 
to be paid upon distilled spirits, and the very imperfect 
methods at that time in force for the collection of the tax, 
had fostered frauds and broken down public confidence in 
the honest administration of internal revenue affairs. 
Even the best-disposed tax-payers, by reason of their be- 
lief that fraudulent preferences had been given to others, 
were inclined to be hostile to the whole system of inter- 
nal revenue taxation. 



3G6 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

To suppress frauds, and to bring honest tax-payers into 
harmonious relations with the Government, were thus 
among the first problems which confronted the new Com- 
missioner. Eecognizing that the initial step towards se- 
curing honest tax-paying was to secure honest collecting, 
Gen. Kaum brought into play his army experience by in- 
augurating a system of inspection and reports, by com- 
petent revenue agents, as to the entire revenue force of 
the country. In regard to all officers having a financial 
responsibility, he established a system of periodical exam- 
ination and verification of their accounts. All possibility 
of partiality or collusion in these reports was avoided by 
a continuous rotation of the inspecting officers. A stand- 
ard of different grades of excellence was adopted, and col- 
lectors were informed in what rank their office stood. The 
almost immediate result was the creation of a spirit of 
emulation in the service, which increased year by year. 
In the first three years of Gen. Raum's administration, 
under this system of inspections and examinations, less 
than $2,800 remained unaccounted for out of a total col- 
lection of over 1343,000,000. During succeediug years this 
deficiency was made good, and at the end of the fiscal year 
1882 the Commissioner was able to report a total collec- 
tion in six years of nearly $749,000,000 at an average 
cost for collection of less thsm three and a half per cent., 
without the loss of a single dollar by defalcation. In the 
preceding ten years the loss on internal revenue taxes 
collected, by defalcation or otherwise, as shown by the 
accounts of the Treasury Department, had exceeded 
$3,000,000. 

Commissioner Eaum frequently found himself hampered 
by insufficient appropriations, but scrupulously avoided 
the creation of any deficiency in regard to expenditures 
within his control. The only deficiency appropriations 
asked for by the Internal Eevenue Bureau from 1877 to 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 367 

1883, were in relation to matters where the law made the 
expenditure imperative, and Congress, though asked to do 
so, had failed to appropriate the necessary funds. 

Under the firm, just, honest, yet judicious and humane 
administration of the laws thus established, based upon the 
theory that tax-laws were devised to raise revenue, and 
not to oppress the tax-payer, or to harshly punish him 
for trivial or technical violations of the law, where no 
fraud was intended, a feeling of mutual confidence and 
respect between the larger tax-payers and the officers of 
the Government was developed, and an important moral 
aid was thus thrown on the side of the observance of the laws. 
But a most difficult task yet remained to be accom- 
plished, viz : the suppression of the illicit manufacture 
and sale of whisky and tobacco in the mountain districts 
of the Southern States, by which not only was great loss 
inflicted upon the revenue, but whole communities were 
demoralized and kept in a v'ronstant condition of lawless- 
ness and almost open insurrection against the laws of the 
United States. An embarrassing feature of the problem 
was, that the law-breakers had, to a considerable extent, 
the sympathy of the State officials, and others of high 
authority amongst them. In one year (1879) tlie Com- 
missioner was called upon to report not fewer than one 
hundred and sixty-five officers of the United States, en- 
gaged in the revenue service, prosecuted in the State 
courts for acts done in their official capacity. To break 
down this vicious and mistaken public sentiment, and to 
bring about a peaceable and orderly enforcement of the 
laws in all sections of the country alike. Gen. Eaum con- 
cluded that the first requisite was to put down forcible 
resistance by superior force. He made requisition on the 
War Department for breech-loading arms of the most 
approved pattern, which were promptly supplied, and 
placed in the hands of the Collectors for use. The "squirrel 



868 POLITICS AND POLnTCIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

guns," and old-fashioned smooth-bore rifles and shot- 
guns with which the "moonshiners" had been accustomed, 
with impunity, to pick off suspected revenue officers, from 
ambuscade, were thus met by the weapons of longer 
range and greater accuracy, in the hands of brave and 
determined men, with the law on their side; and a very 
few skirmishes sufficed to bring about a realizing sense 
of the changed order of things. Then the campaign was 
opened in earnest. The operations were carried on by 
well-organized forces, commanded by experienced ex-offi- 
cers of both armies, carrying out, in some of the most 
disturbed districts, a combined and converging movement, 
from different States, planned and directed by the Com- 
missioner himself. The struggle was protracted and des- 
perate, but in the end the supremacy of the law was 
vindicated, and whole communities began to sue for terms 
of surrender. Then came into play a policy of most 
judicious leniency. After meetings had been held, ad- 
dressed by United States Senators and members of 
Congress, in some of the infected districts, counseling 
obedience to the laws ; after similar expressions of senti- 
ment had been received in writing from the highest law 
officers of some of the States, accompanied by a promise 
not to attempt to further harrass the officers of the United 
States, arrested under State process for acts done in 
their official capacity, an agreement was entered into that 
if those who had been guilty of violations of the laws 
would surrender to the United States Courts within a 
given time, and plead guilty, the Government would ask 
that sentence should be suspended during good behavior, 
and that they should be discharged on their own recogni- 
zances. In many of the worst districts the illicit distillers 
availed themselves of this conditional amnesty by the 
hundreds. A wholesome revolution was thus effected in 
public sentiment ; and it is a curious fact that some of the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 369 

counties which had previously been most notorious for 
"moonshine" outrages and violations of law, became sub- 
sequently the scene of temperance movements and religious 
revivals. 

At the same time that these active coercive measures 
were being carried out to secure compliance with the 
laws. Gen. Eauna was inaugurating other and more peace- 
ful methods of breaking down the practice of illicit 
distilling. One of the most cogent arguments used by 
those who defended the practice was this, that it was the 
only way that the small farmers of those comparatively inac- 
cessible mountain districts had of putting their surplus 
corn to profitable use. To meet this point, and to enable 
small distilleries, of the capacity suited to the require- 
ments of the people, to be established, and carried on 
successfully, (if carried on they must be), and within the 
requirements of the law, the Commissioner recommended 
to Congress, and Congress adopted, a relaxation of the 
rules which were complained of as being impossible to be 
carried out in distilleries of such limited capacity. 

There was no detail of his ofl&ce with which Gen. Raum 
did not familiarize himself; and even the methods of 
gauging spirits were rendered more certainly accurate by 
a change in the plan of measurement and an improve- 
ment in the standard gauging rod devised by him. 

The morale of the service throughout the country was 
still further improved by the promulgation by the Com- 
missioner of a civil service order prohibiting a practice 
which had grown up in a number of districts, of collectors 
distributing their subordinate offices among their own and 
their wives' relations. Very strong pressure was brought 
to bear to break down this rule, but it was consistently 
maintained, with beneficial results which constantly be- 
came more apparent. 
—24 



870 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Whilst these improvements were being effected in the 
service at large, important changes and modifications 
were introduced in the department at Washington. The 
exercise of the immense powers conferred by law upon the 
Commissioner of Internal Eevenue, in regard to the abate- 
ment and refunding of taxes, was wisely restricted by a 
regulation drawn by Gen. Eaum, and approved by Acting 
Secretary McCormack, providing that ex parte affidavits 
should no longer be regarded as proof, but that evidence 
in regard to these claims must be taken on notice, with 
the opportunity given to the counsel for the United States 
to appear and cross-examine. Important recommenda- 
tions were made as to the terms of official tenure, and 
the conditions which should govern appointments, promo- 
tions and removals ; and, as far as the law allowed, these 
principles were put into practical operation in the Internal 
Eevenue Bureau. 

In 1882, the excess of revenue over the actual needs of 
the government, and the constant temptation thus pre- 
sented to extravagance in appropriations, was forcibly 
brought to the attention of the Forty-seventh Congress by 
Commis^sioner Eaum, and a plan of reduction of about 
forty million dollars upon certain objects of taxation was 
suggested, and was adopted by Congress with scarcely 
any modification. 

Abuses in the administration of justice, in connection 
with internal revenue cases, resulting from the practice 
of compensating United States Marshals and District 
Attorneys by fees, early attracted the attention of Gen. 
Eaum, and in his annual report, dated November, 1879, 
he exposed the evils inflicted by this system, and recom- 
mended that marshals and district attorneys should be 
paid fixed salaries. • This recommendation was renewed 
in still more vigorous terms in subsequent reports, and 
has now been adopted by the Department of Justice, and 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 871 

favorably reported upon by the appropriate committees of 
Congress. The passage of this measure by Congress 
would be a fitting cap-sheaf to the six and a half years 
administration of Gen. Eaum, as Commissioner of Internal 
Eevenue, and his efforts to correct abuses, to elevate the 
character of the service, and to bring it into harmonious 
relations with the tax-payers. 

April 30, 1883, General Eaum voluntarily resigned the 
office of Commissioner, to resume the practice of law. 

General Eaum was born at Golconda, Pope county. 
December 3, 1829; he was admitted to the bar in 1853, 
and practiced his profession throughout Southern Illinois. 



CHAPTER LI. 
•WHISKY FRAUDS. 



During the time the tax on whisky was $2.00 per gallon, 
the rules and regulations governing its collection were not 
so rigid as now, and great frauds were practiced all over 
the country. Many of the employees of the Government, 
in high and low places, were corrupted, and for a long 
time it was difficult to ferret out the frauds. Indeed the 
Government never fathomed the enormity of the conspiracy 
until after some of the leading conspirators turned State's 
evidence, which resulted in a complete overthrow of the 
whisky ring. In Illinois, the frauds were mainly commit- 
ted in the first, Chicago, and the eighth, Springfield, 
districts. When the great exposure was made in the first 
district, it was apparent that many of the officers had 
been corrupted, and comparatively few were continued in 



372 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the service, not that all who were dismissed were corrupt, 
but it was believed that the good of the service demanded 
a change. Only nine of the old corps remained on duty, 
among whom we mention the names of M. C. Springer, 
A. St. John Campbell, division deputies ; C. Cox, ganger ; 
F. H. Battershall, cashier; Mrs. F. A. 0, Hicks, clerk. 
The blandishments of the whisky ring had no influence 
upon these persons, and when J. D. Harvey became Col- 
lector, he continued them in the service, promoting Mr. 
Springer to the position of chief deputy, and Mr. Cox, 
chief of division deputies. Under Collector Harvey the 
service has been brought to a state of great perfection, 
and the cry of " whisky frauds " has ceased to be asso- 
ciated with the name of Chicago. 

Very many suits grew out of the investigation of the 
frauds in this district, which were vigorously prosecuted 
under the respective administrations of U. S. District 
Attorneys Mark Bangs and Joseph B. Leake. The total 
amount of fines and penalties collected was |96, 137.45. 

In the eighth district, the collector, John T. Harper, 
defaulted in the sum of |104,000. It is alleged that his 
chief clerk, Albert Smith, was the prime cause of the 
defalcation. Both were arrested and prosecuted, and after 
several years the cases were compromised. 

None of Harper's subordinates, except Smith, were 
implicated in the crime. A. H. Purdie, who was chief 
deputy collector at the time of the defalcation, was made 
acting collector until the appointment of Col. Jonathan 
Merriam, who subsequently made him his chief deputy. 
Merriam, being a man of high character, soon established 
perfect confidence in the administration of the affairs of 
the of&ce, and through all the changes which have since 
taken place in the officials of the office through its con- 
solidation with the seventh district, and the death of 
Collector John W. Hill, of the new eighth, and the 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 373 

appointment of Jacob Wheeler as his successor, it has main- 
tained the highest character at WasMngton. 

As was the case in the first district, many prosecu- 
tions followed the investigation of the frauds, which were 
ably prosecuted by United States District Attorneys, Blu- 
ford Wilson, J. P. VanDorstan and James A. Connolly. 
The total amount of fines and penalties recovered under 
the several prosecutions were $82,000. 

In the other collection districts there was comparatively 
nothing in the way of frauds, and it is a satisfaction to 
know that the Government officials never gave up the 
investigation until all the guilty parties were arrested and 
made to pay penalty for the crimes committed, since 
which time the State has been wholly relieved from the 
odium of whisky frauds. 

As an indication of the fidelity with which the internal 
revenue tax is collected, we note the fact that during the 
last fiscal year, ending June 30, 1883, Collector Howard 
Knowles, of ^the fifth district, collected $13,963,625.50; 
and from March 3, 1875, to June 30, 1883, his collections 
were $78,116,712.64; and during all that time there were 
no frauds known in that district. 

For the seven fiscal years commencing July 1, 1876, and 
ending June 30, 1883, the official reports of the Commis- 
sioner of Internal Kevenue show that Illinois paid into 
the United States treasury $187,790,569.15, which is not 
only a fine record for the officers of the service, but it is 
creditable alike to the tax-payers themselves. 



374 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

CHAPTER LIT. 
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, 



A Bureau of Labor Statistics was established in Illi- 
nois by an act of the Thirty-tirst General Assembly, which 
went into effect July 1, 1879. The passage of the bill was 
the result of a demand made by the workingmen of cer- 
tain of the industrial centers of the State, who had some 
distinctive representation in both branches of that Legisla- 
ture. It was believed that with the growth of manufac- 
tures and mining, and the consequent increase of com- 
munities of operatives dependent upon such enterprises, 
statistics of wages and of the social and physical condi- 
tion of such communities procured and published by the 
State would serve as a guide to intelligent legislation on 
subjects affecting their interests. The value of such work 
had been fully illustrated in the reports of a similar 
bureau which had been maintained for a number of years 
by the State of Massachusetts ; and it was readily recog- 
nized by those engaged in industrial enterprises them- 
selves that 'such a work, made to embrace the general 
statistics of the manufacturer and miner, might be of 
interest and importance to all classes. 

The law provided that the board should consist of five 
Commissioners, to be appointed by the Governor, three of 
whom should be manual laborers and two manufacturers 
or employers in some productive industry, whose term of 
office should be two years or until their successors are 
appointed, with power to appoint a Secretary, who should 
hold the office for two years or until a successor is 
appointed. Under this law, Gov. Cullom appointed Chas. 
H. Deere, of Moline, the manager of one of the largest 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 875 

establishments for the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments in the country ; A. W. KiDgsland, of Chicago, pres- 
ident of an extensive nail manufactory; Joseph C. Snow, 
of Chicago, a practical printer employed on the Chicago 
Tribune ; Geo. T. Brown, of Springfield, a practical moulder ; 
Thomas Lloyd, of Belleville, a representative coal miner. 
The present Secretary of the board is John S. Lord, of 
Chicago, under whose direction much valuable information 
has been collected in the manner contemplated by the law, 
and published in an intelligent and convenient form. The 
composition of the board is a very happy one, and if its 
labors shall be continued in the future as they have been 
conducted in the past, the bureau will prove of great 
value to the State. 



CHAPTER LIII. 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



Since Illinois was admitted into the Union as a State, 
there have been twenty gubernatorial elections. Under 
the Constitution of 1818 the Governor was ineligible to a 
second election in succession, and the same provision ex- 
isted in the Constitution of 1848, but in that of 1870 this 
restriction was omitted. French, Oglesby and Cullom are 
the only persons who have held the office 1 wice. The Con- 
stitution of 1848 legislated. French out of office, and he 
was re-elected that year. Oglesby was elected the second 
time after the lapse of four years. Cullum, under the 
Constitution of 1870, was elected to succeed himself. The 
names of the Governors are given chronologically. 

Shadrach Bond became Governor October 6, 1818; Ed- 
ward Coles, December 5, 1822; Ninian Edwards, Decem- 
ber 6, 1826 ; John Eeynolds, December 9, 1830. Reynolds 
was elected to Congress in 1834, and Wm. L. D. Ewing, 
Lieut-Gov., succeeded to the office November 17. Joseph 



376 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Duncan became Governor December 3, 1834 ; Thos. Carlin, 
December 7, 1838 ; Thos. Ford, December 8, 1842 ; Augus- 
tus C. French, December 9, 1846, and again January 8, 
1849, Joel A. Matteson, January, 1853; Wm. H. Bissell, 
January 12, 1857. Bissell died March 15, 1860, and John 
Wood, Lieut. -Gov., succeeded to the office March 21, 1860. 
Richard Yates became Governor January 14, 1861 ; Rich- 
ard J. Oglesby, January 16, 1865, and again January 13, 
1873 ; John M. Palmer, January 11, 1869. In 1873, Gov. 
Oglesby was elected United States Senator, and John L. 
Beveridge, Lieut.-Gov., succeeded to the office January 
23, 1873. Shelby M. Cullom became Governor January 
8, 1877, and again January 10, 1881. He was elected 
United States Senator in 1883, and John M. Hamilton, 
Lieut.-Gov., succeeded to the office February 6, 1883. 

Illinois has not yet had for Governor a citizen who was 
born in the State. Of the eighteen persons who have 
occupied the gubernatorial chair two were born in Mary- 
land, Bond and Edwards ; one in Virginia, Coles ; two in 
Pennsylvania, Reynolds and Ford ; seven in Kentucky, 
Ewing, Duncan Carlin, Yates, Oglesby, Palmer and Cul- 
lom ; one in New Hampshire, French ; four in New York, 
Matteson, Bissell, Wood and Beveridge, and one in Ohio, 
Hamilton. How rapidly the new generations come to 
assume the duties and cares of government ! None of 
these are living save Oglesby, Palmer, Beveridge, Cullom, 
and Hamilton the present incumbent. Bond died April 13, 
1832, at Kaskaskia ; Edwards, July 20, 1833 ; Duncan, Janu- 
ary 15, 1844 ; Ewing, March 25, 1846 ; Ford, November 2, 
1850 ; Carlin, February 14, 1852 ; Bissell, March 15, 1860, at 
Springfield ; French, September 4, 1864, at Lebanon ; Rey- 
nolds, May 8, 1865, at Belleville ; Coles, July 7, 1868, at 
Philadelphia ; Matteson, January, 1873, at Chicago ; Yates, 
November 28, 1873, at St. Louis, at Barnum's Hotel; 
Wood, June 4, 1880. 



POLinOS AND POLITIOIAIiS OF ILLINOIS. 377 



CHAPTER LIV. 
ILLINOIS IN CONGRESS, 



Delegates in Congress from 1811 to 1818— Representatives from 1818 to 1885— 
Senators from 1818 to 1889. 



NoTB— d. Democrat; w. Whig; r. Republican; i. Independent; a. Greenback. 



From Lanman's Biographical Annals and the Congres- 
sional Directory we have compiled an authentic list of the 
Delegates and Representatives and Senators in Congress 
from the Territory and State, beginning with the Twelfth 
Congress, which convened November 4, 1811, and closing 
with the Fiftieth, which terminates March 3, 1889 : 

Delegates. 

Shadrach Bond, (d) of Kaskaskia, was the first Delegate ; 
he served in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses ; October 
3, 1814, he was appointed Receiver of Public Money* at 
Kaskaskia. 

Benjamin Stephenson, (d) of Edwardsvilie, succeeded 
Bond, and served until 1816, when he was appointed Re- 
ceiver of Public Moneys at Edwardsvilie. 

Nathaniel Pope, (d) succeeded Stephenson, serving until 
1818. 

Representatives. 

John McLean, (d) of Shawneetown, was elected Repre- 
sentative in 1818, and served one term. 

Daniel P. Cook, (d) of Kaskaskia, represented the State 
from 1820 to 1827. 



378 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Joseph Duncan, (d) of Jacksonville, represented the State 
from 1827 to 1834, when he was elected Governor. In the 
meantime the census of 1830 had increased the represen- 
tation from one to three, and under this apportionment 
he then represented the third district. 

Charles Slade, (d) of Belleville, represented the first dis- 
trict in 1833; he died in July of the same year. 

John Keynolds, {d) of Belleville, succeeded Slade, and 
represented the district until 1837, and again from 1839 
to 1843. 

Adam W. Snyder, (d) of Belleville, represented the first 
district from 1837 to 1839. 

Zadok Casey, (d) of Mt. Vernon, represented the second 
district Irom 1833 to 1843. 

William L. May, (d) of Springfield, represented the third 
district, as the successor of Duncan, from 1834 to 1839. 

John T. Stuart, (w) of Springfield, represented the third 
district from 1839 to 1843, and the eighth from 1863 to 
1865. 

The census of 1840 increased the representation from 
three to seven. 

Eobert Smith, (d) of Alton, represented the first district 
from 1843 to 1849, and the eighth from 1857 to 1859. 

* William H. Bissell, (d) of Belleville, represented the 
first district from 1849 to 1853, and the eighth from 1853 
.to 1855. 

John A. McClernand, (d) of Shawneetown, represented the 
second district from 1843 to 1851, and the sixth (Spring- 
field), from 1859 to 1861, when he resigned to accept the 
commission of Brigadier-General in the Union army. 

Willis Allen, (d) of Marion, represented the second dis- 
trict from 1851 to 1853, and the ninth from 1853 to 1855. 

Orlando B. Ficklin, (d) of Charleston, represented the 
third district from 1843 to 1849, and again from 1851 to 
1853. 

♦ Afterwards a Republican. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 379 

Timothy R. Young, (d) of Marshall, represented the third 
district from 1849 to 1851. 

*John Wentworth, (d) of Chicago, represented the fourth 
district from 1843 to 1851, and the second from 1853 to 
1855, and the first from 1855 to 1867. 

Eichard S. Molony, (d) of Belvidere, represented the 
fourth district from 1851 to 1853. 

Stephen A. Douglas, (d) of Quincy, represented the fifth 
district from 1843 to April, 1847, when he resigned to 
accept the office of United States Senator. 

William A. Richardson, (d) of Rushville, represented the 
fifth district from 1847 to August 18, 1856, when he re- 
signed, and again from 1861 to 1863, when he was elected 
United States Senator. 

Joseph P. Hoge, (d) of Galena, represented the sixth dis- 
trict from 1843 to 1847. 

* Thomas J. Turner, (d) of Freeport, represented the sixth 
district from 1847 to 1849. 

Thompson Campbell, (d) of Galena, represented the sixth 
district from 1851 to 1853. 

John J. Hardin, (w) of Jacksonville, represented the 
seventh district from 1843 to 1845. 

Edward D. Baker, (w) of Springfield, represented the 
seventh district from 1845 to December 30, 1846, when 
he resigned, and the sixth from 1849 to 1851. 

John Henry, (w) of Jacksonville, filled out the vacancy 
of Baker. 

* Abraham Lincoln, {iv) of Springfield, represented the 
seventh district from 1847 to 1849, 

Thomas L. Harris, (d) of Petersburg, represented the 
seventh district from 1849 to 1851, and the sixth from 1855 
to November 24, 1859, when he died. 

* Richard Yates, (w) of Jacksonville, represented the 
seventh district from 1851 to 1853, and the sixth from 
1853 to 1855. 

* Afterwards a Republican. 



380 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The census of 1850 increased the representation from 
seven to nine. 

*Elihu B. Washburne, (w) of Galena, represented the first 
district from 1853 to 1863, and the third from 1863 to 
March 9, 1869, when he resigned to accept the office of 
Minister to France. 

James H. Woodworth, (d) of Chicago, represented the 
second district from 1855 to 1857. 

John F. Farnsworth, (r) of Chicago, represented the 
second district from 1857 to 1861, and again from 1863 
to 1873. 

Isaac N. Arnold, (r) of Chicago, represented the second 
district from 1861 to 1863, and the first from 1863 to 
1865. 

Jesse 0. Norton, (r) of Joliet, represented the third dis- 
trict from 1853 to 1857, and the sixth from 1863 to 1865. 

Owen Lovejoy, (r) of Princeton, represented the third dis- 
trict from 1857 to 1863, and the fifth from 1863 to March, 
1864, when he died. 

James Knox, (r) of Knoxville, represented the fourth dis- 
trict from 1853 to 1857. 

William Kellogg, (r) of Canton, represented the fourth 
district from 1857 to 1863. 

Jacob C. Davis (d) filled out the vacancy of Eichardson 
in the fifth district, from August 25, 1856, to 1857. 

Isaac N. Morris, (d) of Quincy, represented the fifth 
district from 1857 to 1861. 

Charles D. Hodges, (d) of Carrollton. filled out the 
vacancy of Harris in the sixth district from January 20, 
1859, to March 3. 

A. L. Knapp, (d) of Jerseyville, filled out the vacancy of 
McClernand in the sixth district from December 12, 1861, 
to 1863, and represented the tenth from 1863 to 1865. 

♦Afterwards a Republloan. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 381 

James C. Allen, (d) of Palestine, represented the seventh 
district from 1853 to 1857, and the State-at-Large from 
1863 to 1865. 

Aaron Shaw, (d) of Lawrenceville, represented the 
seventh district from 1857 to 1859, and the sixteenth from 
1883 to 1885. 

James C. Eobinson, (d) of Marshall, represented the 
seventh district from 1859 to 1863, and the eleventh from 
1863 to 1865, and the eighth (Springfield) from 1871 to 1873, 
and the twelfth (Springfield) from 1873 to 1875. 

*Lyman Trumbull, {d)oi Belleville, was elected from the 
eighth district to the Thirty-fourth Congress, but resigned 
in 1855 to accept the office of United States Senator. 

J. L. D. Morrison, (d) of Belleville, was elected to succeed 
Trumbull in the eighth district, and served one term. 

Philip B. Fouke, (d) of Belleville, represented the eighth 
district from 1859 to 1863. 

Samuel S. Marshall, (d) of McLeansboro, represented the 
ninth district from 1855 to 1859, and the eleventh from 
1865 to 1873, and the nineteenth from 1873 to 1875. 

t John A. Logan, (d) of Benton, represented the ninth dis- 
trict from 1859 to 1861, when he resigned, and, raising a 
regiment, went into the Union army ; and the State-at- 
Large from 1867 to 1871, when he resigned to accept the 
office of United States Senator. 

William J. Allen, (d) of Marion, filled out the vacancy of 
Logan in the ninth district, and represented the thir- 
teenth from 1863 to 1865. 

The census of 1860 increased the representation from 
nine to fourteen. 

t Samuel W. Moulton, (r) of Shelbyville, represented the 
State-at-Large from 1865 to 1867, and the fifteenth dis- 
trict from 1881 to 1883, and the seventeenth from 1883 
to 1885. 

* Afterwards a Republican— now a Democrat. 

+ Afterwards a Republican. I Now a Democrat. 



382 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Norman B. Judd, (r) of Chicago, represented tlae first dis- 
trict from 1867 to 1871. 

Charles B. Farwell, (r) of Chicago, represented the first 
district from 1871 to 1873, and the third from 1873 to 
1875 — and he received the certificate of election to the 
Forty-fourfch Congress ; there was a contest, and the seat 
declared vacant ; and he again represented the third dis- 
trict from 1881 to 1883. 

Horatio C. Burchard, (r) of Freeport, represented the third 
district from 1869, as the successor of Washburne, to 1878, 
and the fifth from 1873 to 1879. 

Chas. M. Harris, (d) of Oquawka, represented the fourth 
district from 1863 to 1865. 

Abner C. Harding, (r) of Monmouth, represented the 
fourth district from 1865 to 1869. 

John B. Hawley, (r) of Eock Island, represented the fourth 
district from 1869 to 1873, and the sixth from 1873 to 
1875. 

Ebon C. Ingersoll, (r) of Peoria, represented the fifth dis- 
trict, as the successor of Lovejoy, from 1864 to 1871. 

Bradford N. Stevens, (d) of Princeton, represented the 
fifth district from 1871 to 1873. 

Burton C. Cook, (r) of Ottawa, represented the sixth dis- 
trict from 1865 to 1871, when he resigned. 

Henry Stapp, (r) of Joliet, filled out the vacancy of Cook, 
from December 4, 1871, to March 3, 1873. 

John E. Eden, (d) of Sullivan, represented the seventh 
district from 1863 to 1865, and the fifteenth from 1873 
to 1879. 

Henry P. H. Bromwell, (r) of Charleston, represented the 
seventh district from 1865 to 1869. 

Jesse H. Moore, (r) of Decatur, represented the seventh 
district from 1869 to 1873. 

Shelby M. Cullom, (r) of Springfield, represented the 
eighth district from 1865 to 1871. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 383 

Lewis W. Ross, (d) of Lewiston, represented the ninth dis- 
trict from 1863 to 1869. 

Thompson W. McNeely, {d) of Petersburg, represented the 
ninth district from 1869 to 1873. 

Anthony Thornton, (d) of Shelbyville, represented the 
tenth district from 1865 to 1867. 

Albert G-. Burr, (d) of Carrollton, represented the tenth 
district from 1867 to 1871. 

Edward Y. Rice, (d) of Hillsboro, represented the tenth 
district from 1871 to 1873. 

William R. Morrison, (d) of Waterloo, represented the 
twelfth district from 1863 to 1865, and the seventeenth 
from 1873 to 1883, and the eighteenth from 1883 to 1885. 

Jehu Baker, (r) of Belleville, represented the twelfth dis- 
trict from 1865 to 1869. 

John B. Hay, (r) of Belleville, represented the twelfth 
district from 1869 to 1873. 

Andrew J. Kuykendall, (r) of Vienna, represented the 
thirteenth district from 1865 to 1867. 

Green B. Raum, (r) of Harrisburg, represented the 
thirteenth district from 1867 to 1869. 

John M. Crebs, (d) of Carmi, represented the thirteenth 
district from 1869 to 1873. 

John L. Beveridge, (r) of Evanston, filled out the vacancy 
of Logan, from the State-at-Large, from 1871 to 1873. 

The census of 1870 increased the representation from 
fourteen to nineteen : 

John B. Rice, (r) of Chicago, represented the first district 
from 1873 to December, 1874, when he died. 

Bernard G. Caulfield, (d) of Chicago, succeeded Rice, and 
represented the first district from 1875 to 1877. 

William Aldrich, (r) of Chicago, represented the first dis- 
trict from 1877 to 1883. 

Jasper D. Ward, (r) of Chicago, represented the second 
district from 1873 to 1875. 



384 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Carter H. Harrison, (d) of Chicago, represented the second 
district from 1875 to 1879. 

George E. Davis, (r) of Chicago, represented the second 
district from 1879 to 1883, and the third from 1883 to 1885. 

John V. LeMoyne, (d) of Chicago, represented the third 
district from May 6, 1876, to 1877. 

Lorenz Brentano, (r) of Chicago, represented the third 
district from 1877 to 1879. 

Hiram Barber, Jr., (r) of Chicago, represented the third 
district from 1879 to 1881. 

Stephen A. Hurlbut, (r) of Belvidere, represented the 
fourth district from 1873 to 1877. 

William Lathrop, (r) of Rockford, represented the fourth 
district from 1877 to 1879. 

John C. Sherwin, (r) of Geneva, represented the fourth 
district from 1879 to 1883. 

Bobert M. A. Hawk, (r) of Mt. Carroll, represented the 
fifth district from 1879 to 1882, when he died. 

Thomas J. Henderson, (r) of Princeton, represented the 
sixth district from 1875 to 1883, and the seventh from 
1883 to 1885. 

Franklin Corwin, (r) of Peru, represented the seventh dis- 
trict from 1873 to 1875. 

Alexander Campbell, (g) of LaSalle, represented the 
seventh district from 1875 to 1877. 

Philip C. Hayes, (r) of Morris, represented the seventh 
district from 1877 to 1881. 

William Cullen, (r) of Ottawa, represented the seventh 
district from 1881 to 1883, and the eighth from 1883 to 
1885. 

Greenbury L. Fort, (r) of Lacon, represented the eighth 
district from 1873 to 1881. 

Lewis E. Pay son, (r) of Pontiac, represented the eighth 
district from 1881 to 1883, and the ninth from 1883 to 
1886. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 385 

Granville Barriere, (r) of Canton, represented the ninth 
district from 1873 to 1875. 

Kichard H. Whiting, (r) of Peoria, represented the ninth 
district from 1875 to 1877. 

Thomas A. Boyd, (r) of Lewiston, represented the ninth 
district from 1877 to 1881. 

John H. Lewis, (r) of Knoxville, represented the ninth 
district from 1881 to 1883. 

William H. Ray, (r) of Eushville, represented the tenth 
district from 1873 to 1875. 

John C. Bagby, (d) of Eushville, represented the tenth 
district from 1875 to 1877. 

Benjamin F. Marsh, (r) of Warsaw, represented the tenth 
district from 1877 to 1883. 

Robert M. Knapp, (d) of Jerseyville, represented the 
eleventh district from 1873 to 1875, and again from 1877 
to 1879. 

Scott Wike, (d) of Pittsj&eld, represented the eleventh 
district from 1875 to 1877. 

James W. Singleton, (d) of Quincy, represented the 
eleventh district from 1879 to 1883. 

William M. Springer, (d) of Springfield, represented the 
twelfth district from 1875 to 1883, and the thirteenth 
from 1883 to 1885. 

John McNulta, (r) of Bloomington, represented the thir- 
teenth district from 1873 to 1875. 

Adlai E. Stevenson, (g) of Bloomington, represented ihe 
thirteenth district from 1875 to 1877, and again from 
1879 to 1881. 

Thomas F. Tipton, (r) of Bloomington, represented the 
thirteenth district from 1877 to 1879. 

Deitrich C. Smith, (r) of Pekin, represented the thirteenth 
district from 1881 to 1883. 
—26 



386 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Joseph G. Cannon, (r) of Danville, represented the four- 
teenth district from 1873 to 1883, and the fifteenth from 
1883 to 1885. 

Albert P. Porsythe, {g) of Isabel, represented the fifteenth 
district from 1879 to 1881. 

James S. Martin, (r) of Salem, represented the sixteenth 
district from 1873 to 1875. 

Wm. A. J. Sparks, (d) of Carlyle, represented the sixteenth 
district from 1875 to 1883. 

Isaac Clements, (r) of Carbondale, represented the eigh- 
teenth district from 1873 to 1875. 

Wm. Hartzell, (d) of Chester, represented the eighteenth 
district from 1875 to 1879. 

John R. Thomas, (r) of Metropolis, represented the eigh- 
teenth district from 1879 to 1883, and the twentieth from 
1883 to 1885. 

Wm. B. Anderson, (g) of Mt. Vernon, represented the nine- 
teenth district from 1875 to 1877. 

Eichard W. Townshend, (d) of Sbawneetown, represented 
the nineteenth district from 1877 to 1885. 

The census of 1880 increased the representation from 
nineteen to twenty. 

Ransom W. Dunham, (r) of Chicago, was elected to repre- 
sent the first district from 1883 to 1885. 

John F. Finerty, (d) of Chicago, was elected to represent 
the second district from 1883 to 1885. 

Geo. E. Adams, (r) of Chicago, was elected to represent 
the fourth district from 1883 to 1885. 

Ruben Ellwood, (r) of Sycamore, was elected to represent 
the fifth district from 1883 to 1885. 

Robert R. Hitt, (r) of Mt. Morris, was elected to represent 
the fifth district from 1882 to 1883 to fill the vacancy 
caused by the death of Hawk, and the sixth district from 
1883 to 1885. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. S87 

Nicholas E. Worthington, (d) of Peoria, was elected to rep- 
resent the tenth district from 1883 to 1885. 

Wm. H. Neece, (d) of Macomb, was elected to represent 
the eleventh district from 1883 to 1885. 

Jas. M. Riggs, (d) of Winchester, was elected to represent 
the twelfth district from 1883 to 1835. 

Jonathan H. Eowell, (r) of Bloomington, was elected to 
represent the fourteenth district from 1883 to 1885. 

Senatoks. 

In December, 1818, Ninian Edwards, [d) of Edwardsville, 
was elected Senator for the unexpired term of the Fifteenth 
Congress which terminated in 1819; in 1819 he was re- 
elected and served until 1824, when he resigned. 

John McLean, (d) of Shawueetown, was elected to fill the 
vacancy caused by the resignation of Edwards, which ter- 
minated March 3, 1825. 

In 1825, Elias Kent Kane, of Kaskaskia, was elected as 
the successor of McLean ; in 1831, he was re-elected, and 
died December 12, 1835. The Governor appointed Wm. 
L. D. Ewing, of Vandalia, to fill the vacancy. 

In 1887, Richard M. Young, (d) of Jonesboro, was elected 
to succeed Ewing. 

In 1843, Sidney Breese, (d) of Carlyle, was elected to suc- 
ceed Young. 

In 1849, James Shields, [d) of Springfield, was elected to 
succeed Breese. 

In 1855, *Lyman Trumbull, (d) of Belleville, now of 
Chicago, was elected to succeed Shields ; in 1861 he was 
re-elected and again in 1867. 

In 1873, Eichard J. Oglesby, (r) of Decatur, was elected 
to succeed Trumbull. 

In 1879, John A. Logan (r) of Carbondale, now of Chicago, 
was elected to succeed Oglesby. 

*Trumbnl! became a Republican at the birth of the party, and continued 
to act with the Republicans until 1872. 



388 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

Thus we have passed through the Senatorial seat first 
occupied by Ninian Edwards, from 1818 to March 3, 1885, 
when Logan's present term will expire. In the 67 years 
which will then have elapsed, ten different persons have 
held the office. 

In December 1818, Jesse B. Thomas, (d) of Kaskaskia, 
was elected Senator for the unexpired term of the Fif- 
teenth Congress, and was re-elected in 1823. 

In 1829, John McLean, (d) of Shawneetown, was elected 
to succeed Thomas, but he died October 4, 1830. The 
Governor appointed David J. Baker, (d) of Kaskaskia, to fill 
the vacancy until the meeting of the General Assembly. 

In 1830, John M. Robinson, (d) of Carmi, was elected to 
succeed Baker; in 1835 he was re-elected. 

In 1841, Samuel McEoberts, (d) of Waterloo, was elected 
to succeed Eobinson, but he died March 27, 1843. The 
Governor appointed James Semple, (d) of Alton, to fill 
the vacancy until the meeting of the General Assembly, 
when he was elected to fill out the term. 

In 1847, Stephen A. Douglas, (d) of Quincy, was elected 
to succeed Semple; he was re-elected in 1853 and again 
in 1859, but died June 3, 1861. The Governor appointed 
0. H. Browning, (r) of Quincy, to fill the vacancy until 
the meeting of the General Assembly. 

In 1863, Wm. A. Piichardson, (d) of Quincy, was elected 
to succeed Browning. 

In 1865, Eichard Yates, (r) of Jacksonville, was elected 
to succeed Richardson, 

In 1871, John A. Logan, (r) of Chicago, was elected to 
succeed Yates. 

In 1877, David Davis, (i) of Bloomington, was elected 
to succeed Logan. 

In 1883, Shelby M. Cullom, (r) of Springfield, was elected 
to succeed Davis. 

We have reviewed the Senatorial seat first filled by 
Thomas down to the election of Cullom, whose term of 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 889 

office will expire March 3, 1889. In the 71 years which 
will then have elapsed, thirteen different persons will have 
filled the office. 

McLean and Logan are the only Senators who have 
occupied both seats. Shields was a Senator from three 
States, — he represented Minnesota in the unexpired term 
of the Thirty-fifth Congress, from May 12, 1857, to March 
3, 1859, and Missouri from January 27, 1879 to March 3, 
1879, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lewis 
V. Bogy. 

Of all the persons who have represented the State in 
the United States Senate, but five are living — Trum- 
bull, Oglesby, David Davis and the present incumbents. 

Of the birth-places of our Senators, nine were born in 
Kentucky, Kobinson, Ewing, Young, Semple, Kichardson, 
Browning, Yates, Oglesby, Cullom; two in Maryland, 
Edwards, Davis ; two in New York, Kane, Breese ; two in 
Connecticut, Baker, Trumbull ; two in Illinois, McRoberts, 
Logan; one in Ohio, Thomas; one in Vermont, Douglas; 
one in Ireland, Shields; one in North Carolina, McLean. 

From 1833 to the close of the Thirty-fourth Congress, 
in 1857, all the Representatives had been Democrats, ex- 
cept John T, Stuart, John J. Hardin, Edward D. Baker, 
John Henry, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Yates, Elihu B. 
Washbume, Jesse 0. Norton, and James Knox, aU of 
whom were Whigs. From 1857 to 1863, the close of the 
Thirty- seventh Congress, the political complexion of the 
delegation was five Democrats and four Republicans ; from 
1863 to 1865, eight Democrats and six Republicans ; from 
1865 to 1869, eleven Republicans and three Democrats; 
from 1869 to 1871, ten Republicans and four Democrats; 
from 1871 to 1873, nine Republicans, four Democrats and 
one Greenbacker ; from 1873 to 1875, thirteen Republicans 
and six Democrats; from 1875 to 1877, six Republicans, 
ten Democrats and three Greenbackers ; from 1877 to 1879, 



390 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

eleven Eepublicans and eight Democrats ; from 1879 to 
1881, twelve Republicans, five Democrats and two Green- 
backers ; from 1881 to 1883, thirteen Republicans and six 
Democrats; from 1883 to 1884, eleven Eepublicans and 
nine Democrats. 

In the Senate, the State was represented exclusively by 
Democrats until 1855, when Lyman Trumbull was elected 
to succeed Gen. Shields, as an anti-Nebraska Democrat. 
In 1859, Stephen A. Douglas was re-elected as a Democrat, 
and in 1863, William A. Richardson was elected as a 
Democrat, as the successor of Douglas. Since that time 
the State has been represented in that body by Republi- 
cans, except in the case of David Davis, who was elected 
by a coalition of Democrats, Republicans and Independ- 
ents, and he remained independent of the respective polit- 
ical parties during his term. 

Among these names will be observed many illustrious 
men, and we doubt if there is a State in the Union, old 
or young, that can show a grander record as to states- 
manship. 

During the war, Illinois had in Congress many able, 
sagacious and patriotic men, among whom we are pleased 
to mention Isaac N. Arnold, John F. Farnsworth, Owen 
Lovejoy, Ebon C. Ingersoll, and Elihu B. Washburne, of 
the House, and Lyman Trumbull and 0. H. Browning, of 
the Senate. Perhaps the men who had as much to do 
with the legislation of that period as any others, were 
Lyman Trumbull and Elihu B. Washburne. Mr. Trum- 
bull, as chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, was the 
peer of any man in the Senate, and wielded a powerful 
influence in shaping the war and reconstruction measures ; 
while Mr. Washburne, by his long and useful service in 
the House, was called the "Father of the House," and 
exercised a marked influence in those perilous times. But 
Mr. Trumbull lost favor with the RepubUcan party when 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 391 

he refused to vote for the impeachment of President John- 
son, in 1868, since which time he has affiliated with the 
Democratic party. The history of the impeachment trial 
has never been impartially written, and in the light of 
to-day, it is not unjust to say, that the vote of Lyman 
Trumbull may have stayed the political madness of the 
hour, and preserved the Nation from establishing a bad 
precedent. 



CHAPTER LV. 
STATE FUNDS. 



Disbursement of State Funds from December 1, 1839, to October 1, 1882— 
Legislative— Executive— Judicial— Debt for Public Works- Educational 
—Internal Improvement Debt— Miscellaneous— Total— State Debt— Its 
Payment. 



The subjoined table, showing the amount of the State 
debt from January 1, 1840, to January 1, 1881, when it 
became extinct, and the disbursement of funds from De- 
cember 1, 1839, to October 1, 1882, has been compiled 
by the Auditor of Public Accounts expressly for our use, 
and it is invaluable as showing the amount expended by 
the State for all purposes, from and to the periods indi- 
cated, inclusive, and the various purposes for which the 
revenues of the State have been and are now expended. 

In explanation of the classification of disbursements 
shown in this table, it may be said that the amounts re- 
ported under the head of legislative, includes the pay of' 
members and officers of the General Assembly, the expense 
of printing and binding legislative reports, journals, bills, 
laws, and the general incidental expenses connected with 
the General Assembly. 



392 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The amounts reported under the head of executive, com- 
prehend the salary of the Governor and other State officers, 
the expenses of the various State departments which in- 
cludes clerk hire, stationery, postage, printing, binding, 
light, fuel, porters, janitors and general repairs. 

Under the head of judicial, is placed the salaries of the 
Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Superior and 
Circuit Courts of Cook county, the Judges of the Appellate 
court, the Judges of the various Circuit Courts, the State's 
Attorneys, the Eeporter of the Supreme Court, and the 
expenses of the various divisions of the Supreme and 
Appellate Courts. 

Under the head of debt for public works is reported the 
amount expended by the State in the general system of 
internal improvements. 

The amounts reported under the head of educational, 
includes the disbursements by the State for the support 
of the common school system, the expenses of the Normal 
Universities and the Industrial University. 

Under the head of miscellaneous, is embraced the ex- 
penses of the State Government, which have no particu- 
lar classification. In these amounts are included the 
expenditures during the war, and for charitable, penal, 
and reformatory institutions, and on account of the new 
State House; the larger amounts are chiefly on account 
of indebtedness incurred during the war, and for expendi- 
tures in the erection of the new State House. 

Under the head of State debt is shown the original 
amount of the State debt January 1, 1840, which was 
112,000,000, and which continued to increase until 1853, 
when it reached the frightful sum of $16,724,177.41. In 
1855, it was reduced to $13,994,614.93 ; 1860, to $10,346,- 
017.06; 1870, to $4,890,937.30; 1880, to $281,059.11, and 
the report for 1882 shows that the debt had become 
utterly extinct. 



.POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 393 

No State in the Union shows a more honorable record 
in dealing with its creditors than Illinois. When the law 
was passed, which suspended the internal improvement 
work, there was a strong disposition on the part of some 
of the people and the law-makers to repudiate the debt for 
the reason that they believed it was beyond their power 
to pay it, but a few brave men said no, and the result 
has been that the obligations of the State have 
been met to the uttermost farthing, and its credit 
maintained at home and abroad. When this balance of 
$12,000,000 was rendered, the Auditor's report shows that 
there were but 7,964,000 acres of land in the State which 
were subject to taxation, and the total assessed value of 
all real and personal property for taxable purposes was but 
$116,466, and the receipts of the State treasury during 
the year 1840 were only $163,509, and the disbursements 
were $209,114, which will go far to explain how the debt 
was augmented from $12,000,000 to $16,724,177.41. 

In a further examination of the records of the Auditor's 
office, we have found that during the year 1818, the total 
amount received into the State treasury for that year was 
$8,017.69, and that the disbursements for aU purposes 
were $7,902.28, leaving a balance in the State treasury 
of $115.41. With the change in the form of government 
there came as a natural result, an increase in the receipts 
and disbursements of the revenues, but it was gradual and 
did not assume any great magnitude until about the year 
1840, the date from which the table has been compiled. 

In contrast with the condition of the State then and 
now, we draw from the records of the Auditor of Public 
Accounts these further facts: The number of acres of 
land assessed for taxation in 1880, was 34,392,324. The 
number of town and city lots assessed for taxation in the 
same year, was 862,624. The total assessed value of all 
property in the State for taxable purposes for the same 
year, was $786,616,394. The receipts into the State 



394 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

treasury during the year 1880, were |3,200,000. The total 
disbursements for the same year were |3,150,000. With 
the State entirely out of debt, and so grand a show- 
ing in point of wealth, no reader, who is a citizen of IIH- 
nois, can contemplate the situation without feelings of pride 
and pleasure at the advancement the State has made. 

We have stated in this connection that the State paid 
the debt incurred under the internal improvement system 
to the uttermost farthing, principal and interest, as the 
records of the Treasurer and Auditor of Pubhc Accounts 
fully attest ; yet it may seem strange that, in the face of 
this declaration, the biennial report of the Auditor of 
Public Accounts for 1882, shows, on page 84, that the 
claim of Macallister & Stebbins, filed May 11, 1880, for 
$409,168.80, styled old State debt, was dismissed by the 
Commission of Claims. Now that the reader may under- 
stand the nature of this decision, and the character of 
the claim, we quote the preamble and section 1 of an act 
passed by the General Assembly of 1849, approved Feb- 
ruary 10, in which it is plainly set forth how the so-called 
Macallister & Stebbins bonds were issued, the exact 
amount of money obtained on them, and the character of 
the settlement made between the State and Macallister & 
Stebbins. The title of the act reads thus: 

"An act to prevent loss to the State upon the Macal- 
lister & Stebbins bonds." 

The preamble is in these words: 

"Whereas, Macallister & Stebbins, of New York, did, 
on the 17th June, 1841, receive of John D. Whiteside, 
Fund Commissioner of Illinois, eight hundred and four 
interest bonds, of one thousand dollars each, bearing 
interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum, and dated 
May 14, 1841, reimbursable at any tin:e after the year 
1865, upon which tiie said Macallister & Stebbins, about 
the 25th June, 1841, advanced two hundred and sixty-one 
thousand four hundred and sixty dollars and eighty-three 
cents ; and whereas, the said John D. Whiteside, near the 
said 25th June, delivered to the said Macallister & Stebbins 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 395 

thirty internal improvement bonds, of one thousand dol- 
lars each, upon which they agreed to make a further 
advance to the State in case it was necessary, to pay the 
July interest for the year 1841— but such advance never 
was made, as it was not required to pay said interest. 
About the 1st of July, 1841, the said John D. Whiteside 
gave to the said Macallister & Stebbins an order on 
Nevins, Townsend & Co., of New York, for forty-one bonds 
of one thousand dollars each; about the 27th day of Oc- 
tober, 1841, the said Macallister & Stebbins received of 
Michael Kennedy thirty-eight thousand two hundred and 
fifteen dollars and forty-four cents of State scrip, which 
was placed to the credit of the State, as well as the 
thirty bonds which they received from the said John D. 
Whiteside, and also the forty-one bonds received from 
Nevins, Townsend & Co. — the three last mentioned sums, 
one hundred and nine thousand two hundred and fifteen 
dollars and forty-four cents over and above the eight hun- 
dred and four interest bonds first received by them — 
making in all, the sum of nine hundred and thirteen 
thousand two hundred and fifteen dollars forty-four cents, 
which the said Macallister & Stebbins acknowledged in 
their account current rendered the State at the session 
of the General Assembly of 1842, (see report, page 197), 
was huld as security for the two hundred and sixty-one 
thousand live hundred and sixty dollars eighty-three cents, 
actually advanced as aforesaid, that sum being but twenty- 
eight and sixty-four-hundredths of a cent upon the dollar 
so as aforesaid received by them." 

Section one of this act reads as follows : 

"That upon the surrender to the State by the said Mac- 
allister & Stebbins, or any person authorized by them, 
of the eight hundred and four interest bonds of one 
thousand dollars each, with their coupons, hypothecated 
with them, on 17th June, 1841, and now outstanding 
against the State, and also other internal improvement 
bonds and scrip subsequently obtained, and amounting at 
the time they obtained them to the sum of one hundred 
and nine thousand two hundred and fifteen dollars forty- 
four cents, over and above the eight hundred and four 
interest bonds first received by them as aforesaid, with 
the coupons on said bonds, and interest on said scrip from 
its date to the time of settlement under this act, it shall 
be the duty of the Governor to issue bonds of not less 
than one thousand dollars each, and payable alter the 



396 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

year 1865, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent, per 
annum, and payable semi-annually in the city of New 
York, pro rata out of the interest fund, and the balance 
of the interest to be paid out of the State treasury. The 
amount of bonds to be issued by the Governor as afore- 
said to be equal to the balance remaining due the said 
Macallister & Stebbins, principal and interest, at the rate 
of seven per cent, per annum, (as per contract) upon the 
advance of two hundred and sixty-one thousand five hun- 
dred sixty dollars eighty-three cents, from the date of 
said advance up to the time of settlement under the pro- 
visions of this act. And should the said Macallister & 
Stebbins not surrender to the Governor all of the eight 
hundred and four bonds, the amount they shall fail to 
surrender, and being the same heretofore taken up by the 
State, shall be credited to the State and deducted from 
the amount found due from the time they shall have been 
taken up by the State, at the rate of twenty-six cents on 
the dollar : Provided, that no bonds shall be issued by the 
Governor as aforesaid, except upon the surrender to the 
State of the bonds of 1865, or of the internal improve- 
ment bonds, or of the scrip as aforesaid, to an amount 
which the whole amount of bonds and scrip now out- 
standing bear to the amount of new bonds which may be 
issued, upon the settlement of the account of Macallister 
& Stebbins — it being the intention of this bill to authorize 
the Governor to issue liquidation bonds at any time when 
an amount not less than twenty thousand dollars of the 
aforesaid bonds, deposited with Macallister & Stebbins, 
shall be surrendered by them or by their order." (See 
Public Laws of 1849.) 

Under a supplemental act, approved February 16, 1865, 
the holders of the so-called Macallister & Stebbins bonds 
were required to surrender the same by July 1, 1865, 
under certain penalties, or by January 1, 1866, under 
other and heavier penalties. (See Public Laws of 1865.) 
Under this act all these bonds have been called in, and 
the just amount due on them paid in full; hence there 
is no foundation in fact for the claim filed in the nam© 
of Macallister & Stebbins, and we are more than war- 
ranted in saying that the State paid in full, principal and 
interest, the enormous debt incurred under the internal 
improvement system of 1837. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



397 



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898 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER LVI, 
SPEECH OF ROBERT G. INGERSOLL. 



Nominating James G. Blaine for the Presidency, at the Repubiioan Na- 
tional Convention, at Cincinnati, June, 1876. 



Massachusetts may be satisfied with the loyalty of 
Benjamin H. Bristow; so am I; but if any man nom- 
inated by this convention can not carry the State of 
Massachusetts, I am not satisfied with the loyalty of that 
State. If the nominee of this convention can not carry 
the grand old Commonwealth of Massachusetts by seventy- 
five thousand majority, I would advise them to sell out 
Faneuil Hall as a Democratic headquarters. I would 
advise them to take from Banker Hill that old monu- 
ment of glory. 

The Repubhcans of the United States demand as their 
leader in the great contest of 1876 a man of intelligence, a 
man of integrity, a man of well-known and approved polit- 
ical opinions. They demand a statesman ; they demand a 
reformer after, as well as before, the election. They de- 
mand a politician in the highest, broadest and best sense 
— a man of superb moral courage. They demand a man 
acquainted with public afl^airs— with the wants of the 
people, with not only the requirements of the hour, but 
with the demands of the future. They demand a man 
broad enough to comprehend the relations of this govern- 
ment to the other nations of the earth. They demand a 
man well versed in the powers, duties, and prerogatives of 
each and every department of this governmant. They 
demand a man who will sacredly preserve the financial 
honor of the United States ; one who knows enough to 
know that the National debt must be paid through the 
prosperity of this people ; one who knows enough to know 
that all the financial theories in the world can not redeem 
a single dollar; one who knows enough to know that all 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 399 

the money must be made, not by law, but by labor; one 
who knows enough to know that the people of the Umted 
States have the industry to make the money, and the 
honor to pay it over just as fast as they make it. 

The Republicans of the United States demand a man 
who knows that prosperity and resumption, when they 
come, must come together ; that when they come, they 
will come hand in hand through the golden harvest iields ; 
hand in hand by the whirlmg spindles and the turning 
wheels ; hand in hand past the open f arnace doors ; hand 
in hand by the flaming forges ; hand in hand by the 
chimneys filled with eager fire, greeted and grasped by the 
countless sons of toil. 

This money has to be dug out of the earth. You can 
not make it by passing resolutions in a political con- 
vention. 

The Republicans of the United States want a man who 
knows that this government should protect every citis^en, 
at home and abroad ; who knows that any government 
that will not defend its defenders, and protect its protec- 
tors, is a disgrace to the map of the world. They demand 
a man who believes in the eternal separation and divorce- 
ment of church and school. They demand a man whose 
political reputation is spotless as a star; but they do not 
demand that their candidate shall have a certificate of moral 
character signed by a confederate congress. The man who 
has, in fall, heaped and rounded measure, all these splen- 
did qualifications is the present grand and gallant leader 
of the Republican party — James G. Blaine. 

Our country, crowned with the vast and marvelous 
achievements of its first century, asks for a man worthy 
of the past, and prophetic of her futare; asks for a man 
who has the audacity of genius ; asks for a man who is 
the grandest combination of heart, conscience and brain 
beneath her flag — such a man is James G. Blaine. 

For the Republican host, led by this intrepid man, there 
can be no defeat. 

This is a grand year — a year filled with the recollec- 
tions of the Revolution ; filled with proud and tender 
memories of the past; with the sacred legends of liberty 
— a year in which the sons of freedom will drink from the 
fountains of enthusiasm ; a year in which the people call 
for a man who has preserved in Congress what our soldiers 
won upon the field ; a year in which they call for a man 
who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of 
slander — for the man who has snatched the mask of 



400 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion ; for the man 
who, like an intellectual athlete, has stood in the arena 
of debate and challenged all comers, and who is still a 
total stranger to defeat. 

Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James Gr. 
Blaine marched down the halls of the American Congress 
and threw his shining lance full and fair against the 
brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country and the 
maliguers of his honor. For the Kepublican party to 
desert this gallant leader now, is as though an army should 
desert their general upon the field of battle. 

James G. Blaine is now and has been for years the 
bearer of the sacred standard of the Republican party. I 
call it sacred, because no human being can stand beneath 
its folds without becoming and without remaining free. 

Gentlemen of the convention, in the name of the great 
Eepublic, the only Republic that ever existed upon this 
earth ; in the name of all her defenders and of all her sup- 
porters ; in the name of all her soldiers living ; in the 
name of all her soldiers dead upon the field of battle, 
and in the name of those who perished in the skeleton 
clutch of famine at Andersonville and Libby, whose suffer- 
ings he so vividly remembers, Illinois — Illinois nominates 
for the next President of this country, that prince of 
parliamentarians — that leader of leaders — James G. Blaine. 



CHAPTER LVII. 
ILLINOIS AND THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, 



Positions held In the National Government- Commissioner of the Land 
Office— Clerk of the Lower House of Congress— Presidency— Marshal of 
the District of Columbia— Associate Justice of the Supreme Court— Sec- 
retary of the Interior— Assistant Attoi-ney-General— Secretary of War— 
Commander of the Armies— Lieutenant-General and General— Secretary 
of State— Assistant Postmaster-General— Solicitor of the Treasury- 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue— Assistant Secretary of the Treas- 
ury—Assistant Secretary of the Interior— Vice-Presidency— Public 
Printer. 



During the sixty-six years Illinois has been a member 
of the National Union, she has occupied a conspicuous 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 401 

place in the government of the Nation, and we note, 
chronologically, the various positions her citizens have 
filled. President Polk appointed Kichard M. Young Com- 
missioner of the Land Office, January 6, 1847, and he 
was Clerk of the House of Representatives from April 17, 
1850, to December 1, 1851. James C. Allen was Clerk of 
the House of Representatives from December 6, 1857, to 
February 3, 1860. 

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1830, and 
again in 1864. Ward H. Lamon was Marshal of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia from 1861, to June, 1865. David Davis 
was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States from December 8, 1862, to 1879, when he resigned 
to accept the office of United States Senator. Isaac N. 
Arnold was Fifth Auditor from April 29, 1865, to Septem- 
ber 26, 1866. 0. H. Drowning was Secretary of the In- 
terior, under President Johnson, from September 1, 1866, 
to March 1868, a part of which time he was acting Attor- 
ney General. John M. Schofield was Secretary of War, 
under President Johnson, from May 30, 18G8, to the close 
of the Administration. T. Lyle Dickey was Assistant 
Attorney-General, under President Johnson, from July, 1S68, 
to the close of the Administration. 

Illinois has furnished, in the person of one man, U. S. 
Grant, Commander of all the armies of the United States, 
and the Lieutenant-General and General of the same. 
Grant was elected President in 1868, and again in 1872. 
Elihu B. Washburne was appointed Secretary of State by 
President Grant. John A. Rawlins was Secretary of War 
under President Grant. Giles A. Smith was Second Assis- 
tant Postmaster-General in 1869. John L. Routt was Second 
Assistant Postmaster-General in 1871. Bluford Wilson was 
Solicitor of the Treasury under the Administration of Grant. 
Green B. Raum was Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 
—26 ' 



402 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

August 2, 1876, to April 30, 1883. John B. Hawley wa& 
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under the Adminis- 
tration of Hayes. Horatio C. Burchard was appointed by 
President Hayes Director of the Mint. Eobert T. Lin- 
coln was appointed Secretary of War by President Gar- 
field. M. L. Joslyn was appointed Assistant Secretary of 
the Interior by President Arthur. David Davis was Presi- 
dent pro tempore of the Senate and acting Vice-President 
from October 13, 1881, to March 3, 1883. S. P. Bounds 
was appointed, by President Arthur, Public Printer in 
April, 1882. 

Of the thirty-eight States, but nine have been honored 
with the Presidency, and but two have held the office more 
times than Illinois. Washington, Jefferson, Madison and 
Monroe were from Vii'ginia, each of whom served two 
terms. Vice-President Tyler was from Virginia, and he 
succeeded to the Presidency in April, 1841, after the death 
of Harrison. Jackson and Polk were from Tennessee, 
Jackson was twice elected and Polk once. Vice-President 
Johnson, of Tennessee, became President in April, 1865, 
on the death of Lincoln by assassination. 

Of the other States, John Adams and John Quincy 
Adams were from Massachusetts ; Van Buren was from 
New York ; Vice-Presidents Fillmore and Arthur were from 
New York; Fillmore became President in July, 1850, on 
the death of Taylor, and Arthur in September, 1881, on 
the death of Garfield, by assassination. Pierce was from 
New Hampshire ; Buchanan from Pennsylvania ; Hayes 
and Garfield from Ohio. 

The Presidential chair has been occupied, up to this 
period, by seventeen different persons, who were elected 
President, and by four who were elected Vice-President. 

It will ever remain a proud fact in history, that Illi- 
nois furnished the Nation, during the momentous strug- 
gle of 1861-66, with a statesman and a warrior whose 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 403 

ability, sagacity and patriotism were equal to the greatest 
emergency, and that they carried the country triumphantly 
through the most stupendous rebellion that has ever 
existed in the tide of time. 



CHAPTER LVIII. 
SPEECH OF ROSCOE CONKLING. 



Nominating Ulysses S. Grant for the Presidency before the National 
Republican Convention, at Chicago, in June. 1880. 



" 'And when asked what State he hails from. 
Our sole reply shall be, 
He hails from Appomattox 
And its famous apple-tree.' 

" In obedience to instructions which I should never dare 
to disregard, expressing also my own firm convictions, I 
rise, Mr. President, in behalf of the State of New York, 
to propose a nomination with which the country and the 
Eepublican party can grandly win. The election before 
us is the Austerlitz of American politics. It will decide, 
for many years, whether the country shall be Piepublican 
or Cossack. The supreme need of the hour is not a can- 
didate who can carry Michigan. All Piepublican candi- 
dates can do that. The need is not of a candidate popular 
in the Territories, because the Territories have no vote. The 
need is of a candidate who can carry doubtful States. Not 
the doubtful States of the North alone, but also the doubt- 
ful States of the South, which we have heard, if I under- 
stood aright, ought to take but little or no part here, 
because the South has nothing to give, but everything to 
receive. The need which urges itself on the conscience 
and reason of the Convention is of a candidate who can 
carry doubtful States, both North and South. And be- 
lieving that he, more surely than any other man, can 



404 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

carry New York against any opponent, and can carry 
not only the North, but several Htates of the South, New 
York is for Ulysses S. Grant. 

" Never defeated — in peace or in war — his name is the 
most illustrious borne by living man. 

" His services attest his greatuess, and the country — 
nay, the world — knows them by heart. His fame was 
earned not alone by things written and said, but by the 
arduous greatness of things done ; and perils and emergen- 
cies will search m vain in the future, as they have searched in 
vain in the past, for any other on whom the Nation leans with 
such confidence and trust. Nevpr having had a policy to 
enforce against the will of the people, he never betrayed a 
cause or a friend, and the people wdl never desert or 
betray him, Standing on the higiie^t eminence of human 
distinction, modest, firm, simple, and self-poised, having 
filled all lands with his renown, he has seen not only the 
high-born and the titled, but the poor and lowly, in the 
uttermost ends of the earth, rise and uncover before him. 
He has studied the needs and the defects of many sys- 
tems of government, and he has returned a better Amer- 
ican than ever, with a wealth of knowledge and experience 
added to the hard common sense which shone so con- 
spicuously in all the tierce light that beat upon him 
during sixteen years the most trying, the most porten- 
tious, the must perilous in the Nation's history. 

" Vilified and reviled, ruthlessly aspersed by unnum- 
bered presses, not in other hinds, but in his own, assaults 
upon him have seasoned and strengthened his hold on 
the public heart. Calumny's ammunition has all been 
exploded; the powder has all been burned once — its force 
is spent — and the name of Grant will glittei*, a bright and 
imperishcible star in the diadem of the Republic, when 
those who have tried to tarni>h it have mouldered m for- 
gotten graves ; and when their memories and their epitaphs 
have vanished utterly. 

" Never elated by success, never depressed by adversity, 
he has ever, in peace as in war, shown the very genius 
of common s-ense. The terms he presented for Lee's sur- 
render foreshadowed tho wisest prophecies and principles 
of true reconstruction. Victor in the greatest war of 
modern times, he quickly signalized his aversion to war 
and his love for peace by an arbiiration of international 
disputes, which stands the wisest, the most majestic ex- 
ample of its kind in the world's diplomacy. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 405 

"When inflation, at the liight of its popularity and 
frenzy, had swept both houses of Congress, it was the 
veto of Grant, single and alone, which overthrew expan- 
sion, and cleared tlie way for specie resumpiion. To him, 
immeasurably more than any other man, is due the fact 
that every paper dollar is at last as good as gold. 

" With him as our leader, we shall have no defensive 
campaign. We shall have nothing to explain away. We 
shall have no apologies to make. The shafts and arrows 
have all been aimed at him, and they lie, broken and 
harmless, at his feet. 

" Life, liberty and property will find a safeguard in 
him. When he said of the colorpd men in Florida, 
' Wherever I am, they may come also,' he meant that, 
had he the power, the poor dwellers in the cabins of the 
South should no longer be driven in terror from the homes 
of their childhoo-l and the graves of their murdered dead. 
When he refused to receive Dennis Kearney in California, 
he meant that communism, lawlessness and disorder, al- 
though it might stalk high-headed and dictate law to a 
whole city, would always find a foe in him. He meant 
that, popular or unpopular, he would hew to the line of 
rigbt, let the chips fly where they may. 

" His integrity, his common sense, his courage, his un- 
equaled experience, are the qualities offered to his country. 
The only argument — the only one — that the wit of man or 
the stress of politics has devised, is one which would dumb- 
founder Solomon, because Solomon thought there was 
nothing new under the sun. Having tried Grant twice 
and found him faithful, we are told that we must not, 
even after an interval of years, trust him again. My 
countrymen ! — my countrymen ! — what stultification does 
not such a fallacy involve. The American people exclude 
Jefferson Davis from public trust. Why? Because he 
was the arch-traitor and would-be destroyer. And now 
the same people is asked to ostracise Grant, and not to 
trust him! Why? Why? I repeat. Because he was the 
arch-preserver of his country, and because, not only in 
war, but twice as Civil Magistrate, he gave his highest, 
noblest efforts to the Republic. Is tbis an electioneering 
juggle or is it hypocrisy's masquerade? There is no field 
of human activity, responsibility or reason in which rational 
beings object to an agent because he has been weigbed 
in the balance and not found wanting. There is, I say, 
no department of human reason in which sane men reject 
an agent because be has had experience, making him 



406 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

exceptionally competent and fit. From the man who shoes 
your horse to the lawyer who tries your cause, the officer 
who manages your railway or your mill, the doctor into 
whose hands you give your life, or the minister who seeks 
to save your soul — what man do you reject because by his 
works you have known him, and found him faithful and fit? 

"What makes the Presidential office an exception to all 
things else in the common sense to be applied to select- 
ing its incumbent ? Who da^res to put fetters on that free 
choice and judgment which is the birth-right of the 
American people? Can it be said that Grant has used 
official power and place to perpetuate his term? He has 
no place, and official power has not been used for him. 
Without patronage, without emissaries, without commit- 
tees, without bureaus, without telegraph wires running from 
his house or from the seats of influence to this Conven- 
tion, without appliances, without electioneering contri- 
vances, without effort on his part. Grant's name is on his 
country's lips. He is struck at by the whole Democratic 
party, because his nomination is the death-blow of Dem- 
ocratic success. He is struck at by others, who find an 
offense and disqualification in the very services he has 
rendered and the very experience he has gained. Show 
me a better man. Name one, and I am answered. But 
do not point as a disqualification to the very experience 
which makes this man fit beyond all others. 

"There is no 'third term' in the case, and the pretense 
will die with the political dog-days tliat gendered it. One 
week after the Democratic Convention we shall have heard 
the last of this rubbish about a 'third term.' Nobody now 
is really disquieted about a third term except those hope- 
lessly longing for a first term, and their dupes and co- 
adjutors. Without effort or intrigue on his part, he is the 
candidate whose friends have never threatened to bolt un- 
less this convention did as they said. He is a Eepubli- 
can who never wavers. He and his friends stand by the 
creed and the candidate of the Eepublican party. They 
hold the rightful rule of the majority as the very essence 
of their faith against not only the common enemy, but 
against the charlatans, jayhawkers, tramps and guerillas 
who deploy between the lines and forage, now on one side 
and then on the other. The convention is master of a 
supreme opportunity. It can name the next President of 
the United States. It can make sure of his election. It 
can make sure not only of his election, but of his certain 
and peaceful inauguration. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 407 

"It can assure a Kepublican majority in the Senate and 
House of Eepresentatives. More than all, it can break 
that power which dominates and mildews the South. It 
can overthrow an organization whose very existence is a 
standing protest against progress. 

" The purpose of the Democratic party is spoils. Its 
very hope and existence is a solid South. Its success is 
a menace to order and prosperity. This convention can 
overthrow and disintegrate these hurtful forces. It can 
dissolve and emancipate a distracted 'solid South.' It can 
speed the Nation in a career of grandeur eclipsing all past 
achievements. Gentlemen, we have only to listen above 
the din and look beyond the dust of an hour, to behold 
the Republican party announcing, with its ensigns resplen- 
dent with illustrious achievements, marching to certain 
and lasting victory with its greatest Marshal at its head." 



CHAPTER LIX, 
OUR STATE BANKS. 



What the People Lost when they went into Liquidation. 



Next in importance to the change which took place in 
the political status of the negro on the advent of the Re- 
publican party into power in the State and Nation, was 
the overthrow of our State banking system. At the time 
the war ensued there were one hundred and ten of these 
institutions in operation, with eleven suspended. 

The more remote the banks were from the commercial 
■centers the better they were supposed to be. But when 
the financial crash of 1861 came, but few of them stood 
the test of honesty and fair dealing. The officers closed 
their doors with impunity, leaving the bill-holders to help 
ithemselves as best they could. Even in the best days of 



408 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

their existence business men were compelled to keep in 
their possession all the known counterfeit detectives then 
printed, and they were legion. First, for the purpose of 
judging as to the genuineness of the notes, and, secondly, 
to learn their commercial value, which varied in amount 
from nothing to par. During the war all these banks went 
into liquidation. Their circulation, November 30, 1860, 
as shown by the biennial report of the Auditor of Public 
Accounts, was $12,320,694. The records of the Auditor's 
otifice show that in closing up these banks there was a 
loss of 35 per cent, on the dollar, amounting in the aggre- 
gate to $4,312,242. 

The older citizens will fully attest the truth of our re- 
marks regarding the character of these banks, and we 
imagine they would as soon think of the re-enslavement 
of the colored man as to consider the question of return- 
ing to the State banking system. 



CHAPTER LX, 
PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 



In 1867, a society was organized in Washington City, 
which was known as the Patrons of Husbandry, and in 
1873, the organization gained a strong foot-hold in Illinois. 
Its object was to do away with what were termed " mid- 
dle men," which it claimed would enable the people to 
buy their supplies of first hands and at greatly reduced 
rates; and to compel railroads to carry a single bushel 
of grain or a single hog to market at the same rate of a 
car load. Political demagogues took hold of the organi- 
zation and it became widespread, and the excitement which 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 409 

followed resulted in the election of a General Assembly 
which passed laws relating to the business traffic of rail- 
roads, which came near bankrupting every railroad com- 
pany in the State ; and an attempt was made to dictate 
the election of the Judiciary. Judge C. B. Lawrence was 
defeated in his candidacy for re-election to the supreme 
bench in the Fifth district, by A. M. Craig, through the 
influence of the Patrons of Husbandry, and a vigorous 
effort was made in the Second district to defeat the re- 
election of Judge John Scholfield, but it signally failed. 
In reply to a general letter addressed to all the candidates 
for Judge, by the Patrons of Husbandry, requiring them 
to define their position upon questions relating to the 
control of corporations, Mr. Scholfield closed a manly 
letter in these words : " I will never be a Judge to record 
the pre-determined decrees of either corporations or indi- 
viduals." But fortunately the sober second thought came 
over the people, and these mischievous and unjust laws 
were so modified by legislation, and the courts, as not to 
operate injuriously upon our railroad system; and the 
Patrons of Husbandry is remembered only as one of the 
folUes of the age. 



CHAPTER LXI. 
TEMPERANCE LEGISLATION. 



The control of the traffic of spirituous liquors has ever 
been a source of great concern to a very large portion of 
our law-abiding citizens, and the question has been pre- 
sented to our law-makers in many ways ; sometimes in 



410 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

the form of an application for a prohibitory law; some- 
times for a low-license law; sometimes for a high-license 
law; sometimes for an amendment to the constitution, 
allowing women the right to vote upon the question of 
license, and sometimes for an amendment to the constitution 
prohibiting the manufacture and sale of spirituous or malt 
liquors as a beverage; and hence there has been, from first 
to last, much legislation upon the subject. 

In 1851, the General Assembly passed what is known 
as the "quart law," the purpose of which was to do away 
with what were termed "dram shops." This did not meet 
the demands of the people, and in 1855 the General As- 
sembly passed a prohibitory act. It was submitted to a 
vote of the people of the State, and rejected. Since then 
we have had the license system and local option ; but all 
the while there has been more or less agitation in favor 
of prohibition ; but no General Assembly has seemed 
willing to allow the people to vote upon an amendment 
to the constitution giving women the right to vote upon 
the question of license or of amendment to the constitu- 
tion, so as to prohibit the manufacture and sale of spirit- 
uous liquors as a beverage. 

In March, 1879, a committee of ladies, representing the 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, waited upon the 
General Assembly with the view of securing the passage 
of a law allowing women to vote in matters relating to 
the sale of spirituous or malt liquors as a beverage. The 
following persons composed that committee : 

Miss Francis E. Willard, president of W. C. T. U. of 
Illinois ; Mrs. T. B. Corse, president of Chicago W. C. T. 
U. ; Mrs. L. A. Hagans, Mrs. Willis A. Barnes, Mrs. C. 
H. Case, Mrs. D. J. True, Chicago; Mrs. Prof. Fry and 
Mrs. A. E. Eiggs, of Bloomington; Mrs. C. H. St. John, 
of Eureka ; Mrs. M. H. Villars, of Pana ; Miss Mary A. 
West, of Gales burg ; Mrs. E. W. Kirkpatrick, of Monmouth ; 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 411 

Mrs. H. A. Calkins and Mrs. E. G. Hibben, of Peo- 
ria; Mrs. M. L. Wells, Mrs. K. Beach and Mrs. H. A. 
AlJyn, of Springfield ; Mrs. E. Greenlee, Mrs. M. A. Cum- 
mings, Mrs. J. B. Hobbs and Miss Lucia Kimball, of 
Chicago ; Mrs. G. H. Read, of Bloomington ; Mrs. H, W. 
Harwood and Mrs. H. C. Cullom, of Joliet ; Mrs. S. B. 
Mooney, of Pana ; Mrs. 8. M. I. Henry, of Eockford; and 
Mrs. M. A. Taliafero, of Keithsbiirg. 

The committee was armed with a petition which con- 
tained the signatures of 80,000 voters and 100,000 women. 
On the 6th of March, on behalf of the ladies, the petition 
was presented to the House of Eepresentatives by Andrew 
Hinds, of Stephenson, in an address of some length, and 
on motion of Solomon P. Hopkins, of Cook, Miss Willard 
and Mrs. Foster, a lawyer, of Clinton, Iowa, were invited 
to address the House. This was the first time a woman 
was ever permitted to speak in an Illinois legislative 
body. 

Subsequently, a bill was prepared and introduced into 
the House, providing an amendment to the constitution 
to allow women over 21 years to be registered the same 
as voters, and further providing that before a saloon- 
keeper could open a saloon he should be able to prove 
to the municipal authorities that he had secured the sig- 
natures of a majority of both men and women, over 21 
years of age, in the community in which he proposed to 
do business. Mr. Hinds presented the bill, and was man- 
fully supported by many of the members. On the 30th 
of May it reached a third reading, when it was lost, by 
a vote of 53 yeas to 55 nays. 

On the 10th of April, the same petition was presented 
to the Senate by the same committee, through Mr. Tal- 
iafero. An objection being made to allowing the ladies 
to speak while the Senate was in session, on motion, a 
recess was taken for thirty minutes, 24 Senators voting 



412 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

for, and 19 against. The time was occupied by Miss 
Willard in an address of much earnestness, and here the 
question rested for that session. 

At the first session of the General Assembly of 1881, 
the same bill was introduced, with a similar fate. But 
although the Woman's Christian Temperance Union met 
with two signal defeats, their labors bore good fruit. 
They stirred the people all over the State to action, and 
when the General Assembly of 1883 came together, one 
of the very first bills introduced was that of Kepresenta- 
tive Harper, fixing a uniform system of license at $500. 
It became a party measure, the Eepublicans favoring its 
passage, and the Democrats opposing. It continued the 
subject of earnest discussion during the entire session, 
and on the 8th of June, passed the House by a bare con- 
stitutional majority. The journals of the House show 
that 70 Eepublicans and 9 Democrats voted for the bill, 
and that 51 Democrats and 4 Eepublicans voted against it. 

The bill passed the Senate June 15, by a vote of 30 
ayes to 20 noes — 29 Eepublicans and 1 Democrat voted 
for it, and 19 Democrats and 1 Eepublican against it. 
An hour after the passage of the bill it received the ap- 
proval of Gov. Hamilton, who had heartily co-operated 
with the friends of the measure, in securing its passage, 
from the first. 

The validity of the law has been passed upon by the 
Supreme Court of the State, which body pronounced it 
constitutional, which has removed all doubts as to its 
enforcement. 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 413 

CHAPTER LXII. 
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES. 



Owen Lovejoy Egged in Bloomington— "Will the Sheriff Call Mr. Pffrim- 
mer"— Wentworth and Browning—" Till He was Conscripted"— U. F. 
Linder and the "Little Doctor"— " Celestial Meridian of 36° 30' "-"Not 
According to Jefferson, but the Gentleman from Jefferson "— " I thought 
I would Let You Make a Water-Dog of Him "—How Col. Reuben Loorals 
was killed— How Pinkney H. Walker became a Justice of the Supreme 
Court— An Exciting Political Episode— "He Knew Him before the Flood" 
—"There is no Use of this Investigation"— "I was Born a Barefooted Boy" 
—"Tom Needles and John Bunn Know to D— n Much to Play Governor"— 
"Wonderful Moral Reformation"-"Tell Old Hilliard to Come and See Me 
Devilish Quick'-^If they will Let Me Out with as Good Character 
as I Had." 



Owen Lovejoy Egged in Bloomington. 

In 1840, and while the pro-slavery mob at Alton was 
still fresh in the minds of the people, Owen Lovejoy had 
an appointment at Bloomington to deliver an anti-slavery 
address. Abolitionists were not very popular then in any 
portion of Illinois, but it was thought he would have no 
trouble in being heard at Bloomington ; but when he reached 
the Court House, from which place he was announced to 
speak, it was found that the doors had been locked against 
him, by order of the County Commissioners. He had been 
accompanied thither by George Dietrich, Job Cusey and 
his son John, then a youth of some fifteen years. Mr. 
Dietrich was a Democrat, but being a member of the same 
church in which Mr. Lovejoy was a preacher, he felt 
that Mr. Lovejoy was entitled to some attention, and 
hence was found in his company, but it is said that 
Dietrich never voted the Democratic ticket after that 
day. On their return from the court house they were 
assaulted with eggs, which was highly enjoyed by the 



414 POLITICS AND POLITICIAKS OF ILLINOid. 

bystanders. Seventeen years after that time, Owen Lovejoy 
represented the city of Bloomington in CoDgress, and the 
lad, John Cusey, who had been ostracised for having been 
found in the company of an Abolitionist, has since rep- 
resented McLean county in the State Senate, and is now 
a member of the State Board of Equahzation from that 
Congressional district. 

" Will the Sheriff Call Mr. Pffrimmer ? " 

Thomas G. C. Davis, at one time a citizen of Metrop- 
olis, and member of the Constitutional convention of 1847, 
was a noted lawyer of Southern Illinois. It is related of 
him that he was never at a loss to supply a missing link 
in the chain of testimony wherein his client had a per- 
sonal interest. There resided in the place a gentleman 
whose name was S. H. Pffrimmer, well-known in that 
section as a good citizen, but a man who managed to know 
a great deal about other people's business, and by the way 
a personal friend of Mr. Davis. On occasions when the 
missing link was needed Mr. Davis would rise to his feet 
and cast a searching glance round the court-room for his 
witness, and not seeing him would vociferate, " Will the 
Sheriff call Mr. Pffrimmer?" The habit was so frequent 
that " Will the Sheriff call Mr. Pffrimmer " became a by- 
word about the court-room and Mr. Pffrimmer was made 
the subject of many a pleasant jest. 

Wentworth and Browning. 

This characteristic story of John Wentworth was related 
to us by Dr. William Jayne, who was present on the 
occasion. Before the repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
Wentworth was a radical Democrat, and while serving in 
Congress with John J. Hardin, a prominent Whig, some of 
Mr. Hardin's private correspondence, in some mysterious 
way, appeared in the public prints, and the offense was 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 415 

clmrged upon Wentwortb, and whether the charge was 
true or false he was, for a long time, violentlj' abused by 
Hardin, and the Whigs in general; but when the anti- 
slavery men met at Bloomington, in May, 1856, to organ- 
ize a new party, Mr. Wentworth was welcomed by the old 
line Whigs with the same cordiality as though he had al- 
ways been a Whig. There he and 0. H. Browning met 
for the first time ; they were introduced by Abraham 
Lincoln. In taking the hand of Mr. Wentworth Mr. 
Browning said, in his most courteous and pleasing man- 
ner, that he had long known him by reputation and was 
proud to meet him, to which Wentworth, jocosely, re- 
plied, " that is not a d — n bit in my favor." 

Till he was Conscripted. 
Norman L. Freeman, now the able and popular Eeporter 
of the Supreme Court, was a resident of Shawneetown in 
1859, but subsequently purchased a farm in Missouri, and 
removed there with the hope of improving his health. 
But a year after the breaking out of the rebellion, he re- 
turned to Shawneetown and resumed the practice of law. 
On handing in his card to be inserted in the local paper, 
the publisher observed the letters "t. c," and being curi- 
ous to know their meaning, Mr. Freeman said he wished 
the card to appear "till he was conscripted." 

U. F. Binder and the "Little Doctor." 

U. F. Linder was one of the great lawyers of Blinois, 
who was contemporaneous with Abraham Lincoln, and was 
never so happy as when he had a crowd around him lis- 
tening to his jokes. But sometimes the joke returned to 
plague him. 

About 1856, he was sitting one summer evening outside 
the door of a hotel in Terre Haute, Indiana, telling a com- 
pany of interested listeners of the exploits of Leonard 
Swett, one of Illinois' noted lawyers. 



416 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

"This man Swett," said be, "is the sharpest lawyer in 
Illinois. He clears his man every time, especially if 
charged with murder." 

" How does he do it, Linder ? " ventured one of his 
hearers to inquire. 

" Do it?" replied Linder, " he proves they are all insane 
— every cursed man of them." 

" Well, how does he do that ?" 

" I'll tell you, sir. He carries around with him a little 
doctor, who knows all about insanity, and swears 'em all 
crazy as loons. The jury comes in with a verdict of 
insanity every time." 

Then he recited several cases which bad occurred where 
the parties bad been thus acquitted, when they were really 
"just as sane as I am, sir, — just as you are," said Lin- 
der, — "It just beats bell." 

At that moment a gentleman who had been sitting inside, 
but bad been an amused listener, walked outside, and offer- 
irjg bis band to Liuder, said: 

" Good evening, Mr. Linder. I have the honor to be 
the little doctor you are talking about, — you tell it very 
well." 

" What might your name be ? " said Linder, though be 
knew very well. 

"My name is Eoe," said the gentleman. 

"Not Doctor Eoe, of Bloomington ? " 

" Yes, sir. Doctor Roe, of Bloomington — the man you 
call Swett's little doctor." 

" Why, I know you, sir, — of course I know you. Dr. 
Roe," said Linder. "My God, sir! are you the man? I 
beg your pardon, Dr. Roe. I did net know that you were 
Swett's witness." 

" Good God, sir, I beg your pardon a thousand times. 
What a blunder I made — indeed, I did not know the man 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 417 

was Dr. Roe, of Bloomington. My God ! Doctor, I can do 
iiotLing else but beg your pardon — and I would not do less 
if I could. Gentlemen, if this man ever swears I am in- 
sane, 1 will believe him myself." 

Celestial Mekidian of 36° 30'. 

Owen Lovejoy was one of the marked men of the age 
in which he lived, in the latter part of December, 1860, 
a piopobition was made in a Republican caucus by a Rep- 
resentative of one of the Northern States, who seriously 
deprecated war as a means of saving the Union, to divide 
the country from Missouri to the Pacific along the parallel 
36° 30', and to give up the south side to slavery. This 
stiuck Lovejoy as beiug supremely preposterous, and he 
was overheard to express his disapprobation of the extra- 
ordinary proposition in these words : " There never was 
a more causeless revolt since Lucifer led his cohorts of 
apostate angels against the throne of God; but I never 
heard that the Almighty proposed to compromise the mat- 
ter by allowing the rebels to kindle the tires of hell south 
of the celestial meridian of 36° 30'." 

ACOORDING to the GeNTLEMAN FROM JeFFERSON. 

"While Lieut. -Gov. Hoffman was the presiding officer of 
the Senate, Ex-Lieut. -Gov. Zadok Casey, of Jefferson 
euuuty, was a member of that body, and being a most 
able parliamentarian, Mr. Hoffman frequently deferred to 
him when difficult questions of parliamentary practice 
arose. On one occasion, when the presiding officer had 
thus sought the advice of Gov. Casey, Senator Mack read 
from Jefferson's Manual a passage at variance with the 
opniion given by Gov. Casey, but the Speaker, in loyalty 
to his referee, adroitly settled the question by assuring 
the Senator that he was "not ruling according to JeJ'ersoiiy 
but according to the gentleman from Jefferson." 
—27 



418 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

" I THOUGHT I WOULD LET YOU MAKE A WaTER-DOG OF HIM." 

We have heard a good story related of George W. Jones, 
the good-natured Clerk of the Appellate Court for the third 
district. He was then the circuit clerk of Pike county, 
and his home was at Pittsfield. The religious denomina- 
tion familiarly known as Campbellites, one of whose car- 
dinal principles is baptism by immersion, was holding a 
protracted meeting, and Elder John Sweeny, a man of 
eminent ability, was assisting Elder E. Eice, the local 
preacher. The house had been crowded for days and 
days, and one evening Mr. Jones concluded he would go 
out and hear the wonderful preacher. His black and tan 
terrier followed him, and soon he and his little dog be- 
came the observed of all observers. The congregation 
would look at the dog and then at Mr. Jones, until they 
attracted the attention of the Elder, who exclaimed in a 
somewhat sarcastic manner, " I wish the friend who 
brought that dog to church would leave him at home 
next time, and bring his family instead." 

Next morning, when Mr. Jones returned to his office, 
he found the two Elders there. Passing in he spoke with 
his usual cordiality to Elder Eice, but paid no attention 
to Elder Sweeny, though he knew him well. 

" Why do you not speak to me, Mr. Jones ?" said Elder 
Sweeny. 

" Because I am mad with you," replied Mr. Jones. 
" Why did you abuse my dog last night ?" 

" Now as you are inclined to be inquisitive," said the 
Elder, " I will ask you a question. Why did you bring 
your dog to church ?" 

"Well," said Mr. Jones, "I will tell you. I have had 
that dog for six years, and I have tried him on rats, I 
have tried him on rabbits, I have tried him on coons, I 
have tried him as a watch-dog, and have yet to find him 
good for anything, and thought I would take him to 
church and let you make a water-dog of him." 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 419 

How Col. Keuben Loomis was Killed. 

One of the saddest occurrences of the war was the death 

of Col. Eeuben Loomis, of DuQuoin, Lieutenant-Colonel of 

the Sixth Illinois Cavalry, at the hands of Maj. T. G. S. 

Herrod, of Shawneetown, of the same regiment, at Ger- 

mantown, Tennessee, on the 3d of November, 18G3. In 

Barnet's "Martyrs and Heroes" of Illinois, we find the 

following account of the unfortunate affair from the pen 

of Maj. Charles W. Whitsit: 

" At the time, the entire effective force of the Sixth 
Illinois Cavalry was out under command of Lieut. -Col. 
Loomis, assisting in the general operations against Gen. 
Chalmers' movements. Maj. Herrod being left in command 
of the ineffective force in camp, did some important offi- 
cial business over his signature, as a 'Major Commanding 
Eegiment.' Lieut. -Col. Loomis, thinking it an injustice 
to him and his regiment, took occasion to reprimand Maj. 
Herrod lor his unwarranted assumption of power. 

" Some bitter words passed during the interview, which 
was in the forenoon of the day on which the murder was 
committed. At dark Maj. Herrod came to headquarters and 
inquired for Col. Loomis, who, he was told, was at supper, 
but would soon be in. He proceeded immediately to the 
Lucken House, near half a mile distant, where Col. Loomis 
boarded, and where Col. Hatch and several other officers were 
at supper. Meeting Col. Loomis in the hall he accosted him 
thus : ' Col. Loomis, you said this morning thus and so, 
in the presence of Col. Hatch ; take it back or I'll kill 
you.' Col. Loomis replied in a mild tone : 'Maj. Herrod, 
you have got a pistol in your hand and I am unarmed. If 
you want to kill me, kill me.' Maj. Herrod immediately 
fired ; the first shot knocking him down, the second enter- 
ing his breast, killing him instantly. He fired three more 
shots, none of which took effect." 

Major Herrod was tried by court-martial and sentenced 
to death, but influential friends interfered and induced 
President Lincoln to commute his sentence to ten years 
imprisonment ; but after a year's confinement in the Au- 
burn, New York, Penitentiary, he was pardoned in May, 
1866, by President Johnson. 



420 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Major Herrod raised the first company, B, of volunteer 
soldiers that went out from Gallatin county, which was 
assigned to the 18th, Col, M. K. Lawler's regiment. 

How PiNKNEY H. Walker became Judge. 
Onias C. Skinner, of Quincy, was one of the Judges of 
the Supreme Court during the administration of Wm. H. 
Bissell, the first Republican Governor of Illinois, and for 
private personal reasons desired to leave the bench. He 
communicated the wish to the Governor, saying at the 
same time that if he would allow him to name, as his suc- 
cessor, Pinkney H. Walker, a Democrat, he would resign, 
but if the vacancy was to be filled with a Republican he 
would not. But Governor Bissell having full confidence 
in the purity of character of Mr. Walker, who was then 
Judge of the Fifth Circuit, readily assented to the request 
of Judge Skinner and the appointment was made, and the 
people seem to have been quite as well satisfied with the 
selection as Judge Skinner himself, for Judge Walker has 
been a member of this Court ever since that time, and is 
esteemed as one of our ablest and purest jurists. Advert- 
ing to his politics, we have heard a good story relating 
to his early political training. Maj. James A. Connolly, 
U. S. District Attorney for the Southern District of IIH- 
nois, made a business visit a year or so ago to that part 
of Kentucky in which Mr. Walker was born, and hap- 
pened to be the guest of an uncle of the Judge's, who 
made inquiry as to the welfare of his nephew, and among 
other things as to his politics, to which Mr. Connolly re- 
plied he was a Democrat, when the uncle, who was a Clay 
Whig, expressing astonishment and disappointment in his 
very looks, shook his head and sadly exclaimed: 'Pink- 
ney was taught better things than that.' 



politios and politicians of illinois. 421 

An Exciting Political Episode. 

Connected with the Constitutional Convention of 1870 
was an exciting episode in the attempt of the opposing 
political parties to secure the organization. Mr. Church, 
of McHenry, Republican, put in nomination Wm. Cary, 
of JoDaviess, for temporary President, and James C. Allen, 
of Crawford, Democrat, nominated Col. John Dement, of 
Lee, which was seconded by Mr. McDowell, of White, 
when Mr. Allen put the question and declared Dement 
elected. Simultaneously, Mr. Church put the nomination 
of Mr. Cary and declared him elected, when the two gen- 
tlemen ascended to the chair ; Dement from the Democratic 
side, and Cary from the Piepublican, and meeting in the 
presidential place they gracefully shook hands and took 
seats together amidst great laughter and applause. The 
good sense of these gentlemen allayed the passions of 
their respective friends, and they continued to occupy the 
chair jointly, putting the questions alternately until the 
roll-call, when Col. Dement was elected President pro 
tempore by a vote of 44 to 32, which relieved the body 
from the embarrassment of having two presiding officers. 

"He Knew him Before the Flood." 

In the campaign of 1872, Gov. Palmer was explaining, 
in a speech made in Springfield, how it was that some 
men changed their politics, while others did not, and cited 
Alexander Starne, who was present, as one who never 
changed. "Why," said the Governor, "I knew Starne 
before the flood, and he was a Democrat then, and I guess 
he will die a Democrat." But Mr. Starne, not being will- 
ing to appear as old as the Governor had made him seem, 
good naturedly rejoined, in a voice loud enough to be 
heard by all, that the only flood he had any recollection 
of meeting the Governor in, was when he was trying to 



422 I'OLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

flood Illinois with Yankee clocks. Many of the audience, 
remembering that the Governor had peddled clocks in his 
younger days, heartily applauded the neat turn Mr. Starne 
had given the Governor's jest. 

There is no use of this Investigation. 
At the time Edward Rutz was serving his first term 
as State Treasurer, the Democratic party obtained, by a 
fusion with the Independents, nominal control of both 
branches of the General Assembly, and the leaders of the 
lower house conceived the idea that there was a shortage 
in Mr. Eutz's cash account, and a committee was raised 
to investigate the matter by counting the money in the 
vault. While the preliminary work was going on a well- 
known Democrat, who had known Mr. Rutz for long years, 
and who was more profane than polite, was overheard to 
say " There is no use of this investigation ; the d — d 
Dutchman has got the money." And so the count proved. 
Notwithstanding the constitution of Illinois inhibits the 
election of a person to the office of State Treasurer two 
terms in succession, yet it was Mr. Rutz's good fortune to 
have been elected three times to that office, the required 
lapse of time ensuing in each case. It is not likely, how. 
ever, that such a circumstance will ever again occur in 
the history of any man in the State. 

" I WAS Born a Poor Barefooted Boy." 

Governor Beveridge is responsible for this story on ex- 
State Treasurer Ridgway. In 1874, Beveridge and Ridg- 
way were making a canvass together of Southern Illinois, 
and at their meeting at Carmi, White county, Ridgway 
took occasion to allude to the fact that that county had 
been his birthplace, and, warming up with the subject, he 
said : " Yes, fellow-citizens, I was born a poor, barefooted 
boy in White county, and am just as much entitled to be 
the Treasurer of the great State of Illinois as though I 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 423 

had been born in the lap of luxury in Cook or any of the 
other great counties of the State. This slip of the tongue 
was too good to be lost, and the crowd shouted long and 
loud, and Eidgway has since been known among his most 
intimate friends as the man who was born barefooted. 

*' Tom Needles and John Bunn Know too D — n Much." 

During the great railroad riot of 1877 business was vir- 
tually suspended on all the leading lines of railway in the 
State, and on one occasion Gov. Cullom had to procure 
from J. C. McMullen, General Superintendent of the C. & 
A. Eailway, a special train in order to reach East St. 
Louis to look after the military operations there. He in- 
vited James A. Connolly, Jonathan Merriam, E. D. Law- 
rence, S. H. Jones and William Prescott to accompany 
him; and in the absence of his Private Secretary, E. F. 
Leonard, requested T. B. Needles, who was then Auditor, 
and John Bunn, to remain at the Executive office to 
assist Harry Lorwin in answering whatever dispatches 
might be received, for he had been overwhelmed with tel- 
egrams from all parts of the State. Needles and Bunn 
willingly assented to the request and took their places in 
the office, remaining there until the Governor's return, 
which was about 12 o'clock the next night, when they 
repaired to the mansion and reported that not a single 
telegram had been received during his absence. Of course, 
the Governor was much surprised at what seemed to be 
a mystery. But on going, to the telegraph office the next 
morning it was readily explained by the manager, who 
said that Adjutant-General Hilliard had remained in the 
office during the absence of the Governor, and had re- 
ceived and answered all messages. When Gen. Hilliard 
was asked by the Governor why he had done so, he re- 
plied : " Tom Needles and John Bunn know too d — n 
much to play Governor." The joke was heartily relished 



424 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

by all who were in the secret, and by none more than 
Needles and Bunn, but it was a long time before they 
heard the last of " playing Governor." 

" WONDEKFUL MoRAL EeFORMATION." 

When A. J. Kuykendall represented the thirteenth con- 
gressional district— now the twentieth — as a Republican, 
there was much curiosity among war Representatives to 
see the man who had beaten Wm. J. Allen, a somewhat 
notorious anti-war Democrat. On one occasion, Mr. Kuy- 
kendall was invited to join a party of members in a social 
glass ; declining to drink, it was suggested that he take a 
cigar, but not having acquired the habit of smoking, this 
courtesy was also declined ; and then it was proposed to 
play a game of cards, when he again declined. By Hub 
time his companions were more than ever interested in 
the character of the new Representative, and one of them 
made bold to say: "Do I understand you to say that 
you have the honor to represent the district formerly re- 
presented by John A. Logan and Wm. J. Allen, and that 
you neither drink, smoke, nor play cards?" Mr. Kuy- 
kendall indicated that such was the fact, when the gen- 
tleman concluded by saying, that the moral reformation 
in that district has been even as great as the political. 

"Tell Old Hilliard to Come and See me, Devilish Quick." 

There is a good story related of Gov. Cullom, which 
had its origin during an occasion when an outbreak was 
hourly expected from "striking" miners. Those who know 
the Governor well will bear us out in saying that he was 
not given to much dress-parade in the discharge of his 
official duties, and that he is in no sense a military man. 
On one occasion, when he was deeply occupied with mat- 
ters of State, the Orderly of Adjutant-General Hilliard made 
his appearance, and inquired if the "Commander-in-Chief 



POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 425 

had any orders for Adjutant-General Hilliard," at the 
same time saluting the Governor in true mihtary style. 
Without relinquishing his attention from the business in 
hand, the Governor curtly said: "Tell Old Hilliard to 
come and see me." Another military salute, and the 
Orderly was off, but he had not gone far before it occurred 
to him that the "Commander-in-Chief " did not wish 
to send the message to the Adjutant-General in that 
form, and returned, and with another military salute, 
asked further instructions, when the Governor, rising 
from his seat as though he meant to put the Orderly out 
of his ofhce, thundered in his ear: "Tell Old Hilliard to 
come and see me, devilish quick." This emphatic order 
served to end all unnecessary palaver between the two 
departments so long as that Orderly remained on duty. 

"IfTHEY WILL LET ME OUT WITH AS GoOD CHARACTER AS I HAD." 

The animosities which grew up in the Republican party 
over the attempt to carry Illinois solid for Gen. Grant 
for President in the National Convention in 1880, con- 
tinued to exist to some extent even after the election of 
Garfield, and among those who were not in exact accord 
with the "stalwarts" was Charles B. Farwell, who had 
been elected to Congress from the third congressional 
district in Chicago. The writer met Mr. Farwell in Wash- 
ington at the inauguration of Mr. Garfield, and in reply 
to an inquiry as to how he viewed the incoming Admin- 
istration, he declined to say anything of it, but related 
the following story illustrative of his feelings : "There 
resided," said he, "in a certain locality in a neighboring 
State a wealthy citizen, of liberal instincts, who was in- 
duced to interest himself financially in the erection of an 
expensive house of worship for the Episcopal church. 
When the edifice was completed, then came the disposi- 
tion of the pews, and this wealthy man was assigned one 



426 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

of the most desirable, at an annual rental of five hundred 
dollars, and was taken in as a member of the society. 
But it was not long before a church quarrel ensued, and 
the opposing parties called each other almost everything 
but christians. For a time the new member bore the 
controversy with seeming patience, but at last becoming 
thoroughly disgusted, he proposed to the brethren that if 
they would 'let him out into the world again with as good 
character as he possessed when he was taken into the 
church, he would give them the five hundred dollars pew- 
rent, and surrender all interest in the building.'" 

Mr. Farwell playfully said that if the party would let 
him out of Congress with as good character as he had 
when he entered public life, he would cheerfully lay aside 
all claims for money expended or services rendered in 
past campaigns. 



APPENDIX. 427 



APPENDIX. 



CHAPTER I. 
ILLINOIS. 



Formation into a Territory— Offlcers^Formation of Legislative Districts- 
Territorial Legislation— Personal. 



We learn from the History of the United States that 
the Illinois country was first explored by LaSalle, the 
French Missionaries and Indian traders, who formed the 
earliest settlement at Kaskaskia, in 1683 ; that the coun- 
try was first owned by the French and was afterward 
ceded to Great Britain, when it became a part of the 
possessions of Virginia. The questions growing out of the 
ownership, by several States, of vast tracts of unoccupied 
land, were very difficult of solution, owing, in many in- 
stances, to rival claims based on the comprehensive, ill- 
defined, and often conflicting grants made by different 
sovereigns of England to colonies and colonists in the 
new world; and the conviction in various quarters that 
all the territory acquired from Great Britain by the treaty 
of 1783, having been secured by the blood and the treas- 
ure of the whole people, should be held by all the States 
as common property. The data in possession of the 
European governments in relation to this continent were 
so vague that it was impossible to define their grants with 
anything like accuracy; and they seemed to think that 
the country was so expansive that there was scarcely any 



428 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

limit to its extent or their power over it; and the result 
was that different colonies claimed the ownership of the 
same territory, and in various instances it was claimed by- 
several conflicting authorities. These questions proved for 
a time serious obstacles in the way of accord among the 
several States; and so complicated did they become that 
at times they seemed impossible of adjustment. But the 
sound common sense and the enlightened patriotism that 
had governed the statesmen of that day, throughout their 
perilous conflict, proved sufficient for this last emergency. 
Virginia took the first practical step in the direction of a 
settlement, by the cession to the confederacy, in 1784, of 
all her land Northwest of the Ohio river — which was accepted 
by Congress— and in relation to which the Ordinance of 
1787 was subsequently adopted. By this measure the ob- 
stacles were removed. From this territory was formed five 
States — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin — 
all devoted to freedom. (See Hickey's Constitution of the 
United States.) Illinois was a part of Indiana Territory 
when organized as a Territory. 

February 3, 1809, Congress passed an act dividing the 
Indiana Territory into two separate governments, and 
establishing the Territory of Illinois. President Madison 
appointed John Boyle, an Associate Justice of the Court 
of Appeals of Kentucky, Governor of the Territory, but he 
declined, and Ninian Edwards, Chief Justice of the same 
Court, was appointed in his stead. Nathaniel Pope was 
appointed Secretary; Alexander Stuart, Obadiah Jones and 
Jes3e B. Thomas, Judges ; Benjamin H. Boyle, Attorney- 
General. This composed the Territorial Government. 

Under the Ordinance of 1787, and the act of Congress 
February 3, 1809, the Governor and Judges constituted 
the law-making power of the Territory, and as such they met 
for the first time at Kaskaskia, June 13, 1809, and their 
first act was to resolve that the laws of Indiana Territory, 



APPENDIX. 429 

in force prior to March 1, 1809, which applied to the 
government of the Territory, shoald remain in full force 
and effect. The duration of the session was seven days, 
in which thirteen acts were passed. 

The second session of the Council was held in 1810, at 
which fourteen acts were passed, and the third and last 
session was held in 1811, at which live acts were passed. 
Among the laws enacted were some from the Georgia, 
Kentucky, Pennsylvania and South Carolina statutes. 

In May, 1812, Congress passed an act authorizing the 
formation of five Legislative districts in the Ttrntory which 
were to be apportioned by the Governor, and from each of 
which was to be elected a member of the Legislative Coun- 
cil, who should hold the ohice four years ; the number of 
Representatives to be elected was not to be less than seven 
nor more than twelve, until the number of ' fiee male, 
white inhabitants" should equal six thousand, and afier 
that time the number was to be governed by the Ordinance 
of 1787. The office of Representative was for two years. 

Governor Edwards called the first election for Cuuncd- 
men and Representatives for October 8, 9 and 10, 1812. 

Terkitortal Government, 1812. 

Governor — Ninian Edwards. 
Secretary of State — Nathaniel Pope. 
Auditor of Public Accounts— H. H. Maxwell. 
Attorney-General — B. M. Piatt. 
Treasurer — John Thomas. 

First Territorial Legislature. 
The first session of the Territorial Legislature under the 
act of Congress of May 12, convened at Kaskaskia, No- 
vember 25, 1812, and was composed of the following 

members : 

Council. 

Pierre Menard, Randolph. Samuel Judy, Madison. 
Benjamin Talbott, Gallatin. Thomas Ferguson, Johnson. 
William Biggs, St. Clair. 



430 politics and politicians of illinois. 

House of Eepresentatives. 

George Fisher, Eandolph. Joshua Oglesby, St. Clair. 
Alexander Wilson, Gallatin. Jacob Short, St. Clair. 
Philip Trammel, Gallatin. William Jones, Madison. 
John Grammar, Johnson. 

Pierre Menard was elected President of the Council, 
and John Thomas Secretary. George Fisher was elected 
Speaker of the House, and William C. Greenup Clerk. 

The duration of this session was thirty-two days, and 
the whole number of acts passed was twenty-seven. The 
salary of the Attorney- General was fixed at $175 per an- 
num; Auditor, $150; Treasurer, $150; and members of 
the Legislature at $2 per day. 

A second session of this body convened November 8, 
1813. Thirteen laws were passed, principal among which 
was one to prevent the sale of liquor to the Indians, and 
another to prevent the emigration of negroes or mulattoes 
into the Territory. 

Second Territorial Legislature. 

The Second Territorial Legislature convened on the 14th 
of November, 1814, and was composed of the following 
members : 

Council. 

Pierre Menard, Eandolph. Samuel Judy, Madison. 
Wm. Biggs, St. Clair. Thomas Ferguson, Johnson. 

Benj. Talbott, Gallatin. 

House of Eepresentatives. 

Eisdon Moore, St. Clair. Philip Trammel, Gallatin. 

Wm. Eabb, Madison. Thos. C. Browne, Gallatin. 

Jas. Lemen, Jr., St. Clair Owen Evans, Johnson. 
Jas. Gilbreath, Eandolph. 

The officers of the Council were the same as in the 
preceding Legislature. In the House, Eisdon Moore was 
elected Speaker, and William Mears, who had succeeded 
B. M. Piatt as Attorney-General, Clerk. 



APPENDIX. 431 

The laws excluding Judges of the Courts and surveyors 
from holding seats in the Legislature, and taxing land, 
which had been passed by the preceding Legislature, were 
repealed. A contract was made with Nathaniel Pope for 
revising the laws. Acts were passed incorporating Shaw- 
neetown and authorizing the payment of $50 for every hos- 
tile Indian killed. An adjournment was taken December 
24 to the 4th of September, 1815. 

On the reassembling of this body, agreeably to adjourn- 
ment, Jarvis Hazleton, of Randolph, appeared as the Rep- 
resentative instead of Gilbreath, and John G. Lofton, of 
Madison, in place of Owen Evans. Daniel P. Cook was 
elected Clerk. The duration of this session was thirty- 
nine days. Thirty-eight acts were passed, one of which 
was to tax each billiard table $150 per annum, and another 
to punish counterfeiters of bank-bills by fine and whipping, 
and if the offender was unable to pay the fine, he was to 
be sold by the Sheriff at public vendue to satisfy the 
judgment. 

Third Territorial Legislature — 1816-17. 

The third Territorial Legislature convened December 2, 
1816, and was composed of the following members: 

Council. 

Pierre Menard, Randolph. John Grammar, Johnson. 
John G. Lofton, Madison. Thomas C. Browne, Gallatin. 
Abraham Amos, St. Clair. 

House of Representatives. 

George Fisher, Randolph. Joseph Palmer, Johnson. 
C. R. Matheny, St. Clair. Seth Gard, Edwards. 
Wm. H. Bradsby, St. Clair. Samuel O'Melveny, Pope. 
Nathan Davis, Jackson. 

Pierre Menard was elected President of the Council, 
and Joseph Conway Secretary. In the House, George 
Fisher was elected Speaker, and Daniel P. Cook, who had 
become Auditor of Public Accounts, Clerk. 



432 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

This Legislature was in session from December 2, 1816, 
to January 14, 1817, when it took a recess to December 1, 
following. There were twenty-eight acts passed at this 
session. One of the important acts was to establish a 
bank at Shawneetown, with a capital of $300,000. The 
Indiana Legislature had passed an act prohibiting non- 
resident lawyers from practicing in the courts of that 
State, and in retaliation an act was passed at this session 
imposing a fine of $200 upon any Indiana lawyer found 
practicing in the Territory, and the same act imposed a 
fine of $500 on any iudge who, knowingly, allowed an 
Indiana lawyer to practice in his court. 

The second session convened December 1, 1817, agree- 
ably to adjournment. Willis Hargrave, of White, appeared 
as Representative instead of Nathan Davis, and M. S. 
Davis, of Gallatin, in place of Samuel O'Melveny. Fifty 
acts were passed, notably among which were acts estab- 
ilishing banks at Kaskaskia, Edwardsville and Cairo, and 
1 another incorporating medical societies at Kaskaskia and 
Carmi. An adjournment took place January 12, 1818, 
which terminated Territorial legislation. 

Quite a number of the members of the Territorial Leg- 
islature became eminent in the councils of the State. 
'Thomas C. Browne was twice elected to the Supreme 
Ibench, and Pierre Menard was Lieutenant-Governor under 
Gov. Bond. Mr. Menard was a Frenchman, and was con- 
.sidered an able and excellent man. The county of Menard 
was named in honor of him, and a kind friend, in the per- 
son of Charles P. Chouteau, of St. Louis, recently presented 
to Illinois $10,000 for the erection of a monument to his 
memory, which is to be placed in the grounds of the new 
State House. Ford, in his history, relates this anec- 
dote of Menard : While presiding over the Senate, an act 
passed that body which proposed to make the notes of the 
State banks receivable at the land ofiice. Menard, in put- 
ting the question, said : " Gentlemen of de Senate, it is 



APPENDIX. 433 

moved and seconded dat de notes of dis bank be made 
land-office money. All in favor of dat motion say aye ; 
all against it say no. It is decided in de affirmative. And 
now, gentlemen, I bet you one hundred dollar be never be 
made laud-office money." 

Daniel P. Cook represented the State in Congress from 
1820 to 1827, and filled, with great ability, his duties as a 
member of the Committee of Ways and Means, and was 
considered by such men as Calhoun and Judge McLean 
as a man of remarkable talents. He was a native of Ken- 
tucky, and died at the age of thirty-two years, in Octo- 
ber, 1827. 



CHAPTER II. 
ADMISSION AS A STATE. 



Constitutional Convention— Peculiarities of the Constitution— Boundaries 

of the State. 



Congress passed an act April 18, 1818, enabling the 
people of the Territory to form a State Constitution pre- 
paratory to admission into the Union. The election for 
delegates was authorized to take place on the first Mon- 
day of the ensuing July, and the convention to meet on 
the first Monday in August, following. There were then 
but fourteen counties in the Territory, and the enabling 
act fixed the number of delegates at thirty-three. The 
convention assembled agreeably to law, and was composed 
of the following delegates : 

Jesse B. Thomas, John Messinger, James Lemen, Jr., 
George Fisher, Elias Kent Kane, Benjamin Stephenson, 
Joseph Borough, Abraham Prickett, Michael Jones, 
—28 



434 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Leonard White, Adolpbus F.Hubbard, Hezekiah West, Wm. 
McFatridge, Seth Gard, Levi Compton, Willis Hargravc, 
Wm. McHenry, Caldwell Cams, Enoch Moore, Samuel 
O'Melveny, Hamlet Ferguson, Conrad Will, James Hall, Jr., 
Joseph Kitchell, Edward N. Cullom, Thomas Kirkpatrick, 
Samuel G. Morse, William Echols, John Whiteaker, An- 
drew Bankson, Isham Harrison, Thomas Eoberts. 

The convention organized by the election of Jesse B, 
Thomas President, and W^illiam G. Greenup Secretary. 

The constitution was adopted by the convention, August 
26, but was not submilted to a vote of the people, as 
subsequent constitutions have been. There were but eight 
articles. We note some of the peculiar features of 
the instrument: The salary of the Governor was 
fixed at $1,000; Secretary of State, |600; Judges 
of the Supreme Court, $1,000. The mode of voting 
was to be viva voce until the General Assembly should 
change it; Judges of inferior courts were to hold their 
offices during good behavior; Judges of the Supreme 
Court were to be removed from office on the request of 
two-thirds of the members of each house of the General 
Assembly ; every person who had been bound to service 
by contract or indenture, by virtue of the laws of Illinois 
Territory, were held to a specific performance of their 
contracts or indentures, and negroes and mulattoes who 
had been registered in conformity with the aforesaid laws, 
to serve out the time appointed by said laws ; and the 
children born to such persons after that time were to be 
free, the males at the age of 21 years, the females at the 
age of 18 years, and every child born of indentured pa- 
rents was to be registered with the clerk of the county in 
whivih they resided within six months after birth. 

Congress fixed the boundaries of the State as follows : 
"Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash river; thence 
up the same, and with the line of Indiana, to the northwest 



APPENDIX. 435 

corner of said State ; thence east, with the line of 
said State, to the middle of Lake Michigan ; thence north, 
along the middle of said lake, to north latitude 42° and 
30'; thence west to the middle of the Mississippi river, 
and thence down along the middle of that river to its 
confluence with the Ohio river, and thence up the latter 
river, along its northwestern shore, to the place of begin- 
ning: Provided, that this State shall exercise such juris- 
diction upon the Ohio river as she is now entitled, or 
such as may hereafter be agreed upon by this State and 
the State of Kentucky." 

The State was admitted into the Union December 3, 
1818. 



CHAPTER III. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1818-22. 



The first State government began October 6, 1818, wiili 
the following officers : Shadrach Bond, of St. Clair, Gov- 
ernor; Pierre Menard, of Eandolph, Lieutenant-Governor; 
Elias Kent Kane, of Eandolph, Secretary of State ; Elijah 
C. Berry, of Fayette, Auditor of Public Accounts ; John 
Thomas, of St. Clair, Treasurer ; Daniel P. Cook, of Ran- 
dolph, Attorney-General. 

Under the constitution of 1818, the Governor and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor were the only State officers who were 
elected directly by the people. The others were chosen 
from time to time by the General Assembly. 

Gov. Bond assumed the duties of his office October 6. 
One of his first recommendations to the General Assem- 
bly was for the construction of a canal connecting Lake 
Michigan with the Mississippi river. 

The first General Assembly convened October 5, 1818, 
and adjourned October 13, and convened again January 



436 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

4, 1819, and adjourned March 31. It was composed of 

the following members : 

Senate. 

Lewis Barker, Pope. William Kinney, St. Clair. 

George Caldwell, Madison. Joseph Kitchell, Crawford. 

Thomas Cox, Union. Zariah Maddux, Washington. 

Willis Hargrave, White. John McFerron, Randolph. 

Alexander Jamison, Monroe. Thos. Roberts, Johnson. 

Martin Jones, Bond. Guy W. Smith, Edwards. 

Michael Jones, Gallatin. Conrad Will, Jackson. 

House of Representatives. 

Wm. Alexander, Monroe. John Messenger, St. Clair. 

Levi Compton, Edwards. Risdon Moore, St. Clair. 

J. G. Daimwood, Gallatin. William Nash, White. 

Jesse Echols, Union. Alexander Phillips, White. 

Elijah Ewing, Franklin. David Porter, Crawford. 

Green B. Field, Pope. Abraham Prickett, Madison. 

Jesse Gregg, Jackson. Scott Riggs, Crawford. 

Robert Hamilton, Pope. D. S. Swearingen, Washingt'n. 

John Howard, Madison. James D. Thomas, St. Clair. 

A. F. Hubbard, Gallatin. Henry Utter, Edwards. 

E. Humphreys, Randolph. Samuel Walker, Randolph. 

Francis Kirkpatrick, Bond. John Whiteaker, Union, 

John Marshall, Gallatin. Samuel Whitesides, Madison. 

Snm'lMcClintock, Gallatin. Isaac D. Wilcox, Johnson. 
Wm. McHenry, White. 

Pierre Menard was the presiding ofQcer of the Senate, 
and William C. Greenup was elected Secretary. In the 
House John Messinger was elected Speaker, and Thomas 
Reynolds Clerk. 

There is quite a contrast between the General Assem- 
bly of the present time and then, the whole number of 
members of this body being eight less than now compose 
the present Senate, and we print this roster more with a 
view of showing the contrast as to size between the re- 
spective General Assemblies. 

The time of this General Assembly was occupied in 
passing laws necessary to put the machinery of State in 
working order. The population was sparse, and there 
was no great demand for legislation. 



APPENDIX. 437 

Ninian Edwards and Jesse B. Thomas were chosen 
United States Senators at this session. 

In 1819, E. K. McLaughhn succeeded Thomas as Treas- 
urer, and WilHam Mears succeeded Cook as Attorney- 
General. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CAPITALS. 



Kaskaskia—Vandalia—Springfleld— Population of Kaskaskia in 1820— Popu- 
• lation now— An Island of the Mississippi— Towns which Wanted the 
Capital— When Removed from Vandalia. 



Ilhnois has had three capitals— Kaskaskia, Vandalia 
and Springfield. When Kaskaskia became the seat of 
government it was also the county seat of Eandolph 
county. There were then but two counties in the Territory, 
Eandolph and St. Clair. The first session of the Terri- 
torial Legislature was convened November 25, 1812 — and 
the first Legislature of the State, October 5, 1818. 

In 1820, the seat of government was removed to Van- 
dalia ; there were then nineteen counties. The first ses- 
sion of the Legislature convened there December 4, 1820. 
The Capital was removed to Springfield in 1839, at which 
time there were seventy-two counties. The first session 
of the Legislature convened there December 9, 1839. 

When the joint resolution removing the capital to 
Springfield passed the General Assembly, in 1838, on the 
first ballot, there were eighteen towns voted for as being 
the proper place for the capital. On the first ballot 
Springfield received 35, Vandalia 16, Alton 15, Jackson- 
ville 14, Decatur 4, Carrollton 8, Illiopolis 3, Bloomington 



438 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

2, Mt. Carmel 2, Paris 1, Palestine 1, Grafton 1, Shaw- 
neetown 1, Pittsfield 1, Kaskaskia 1, Shelbyville 1, Hills- 
boro 1, Caledonia 1, and the geographical centre 3. On 
the fourth and last ballot Springfield received 73 votes, 
Vandalia 16, Jacksonville 11, Alton 6, Peoria 8, Illiopolis 

3, Hillsboro 1, Shawneetown 1, Bloomington 1, Essex 1, 
Grafton 1, and Caledonia 1. 

Some earnest efforts have been made at different times 
to remove the capital from Springfield to Peoria and else- 
where, but the building of the new State House, which 
will cost, when completed, something over $3,500,000, has 
doubtless silenced the serious consideration of this question 
for generations to come. 

Of Kaskaskia, Peck's Gazateer of 1834 says : 

" The early French explorers made one of their first 
settlements at this spot, shortly after the visit of LaSalle, 
in 1683 ; and so long as the French continued in posses- 
sion of the Illinois country, Kaskaskia was its capital, and 
was flourishing and populous. In 1721, when Charlevoix 
visited it, there existed a Jesuit college. In 1763, when 
the country east of the Mississippi was ceded by France to 
Great Britain, it contained about one hundred families." 

In 1820, Kaskaskia attained its greatest population. The 
United States census of that year reckoned the number 
of inhabitants at 7,000. Soon after the removal of the 
capital to Vandalia, which occurred during the year 1820, 
the population of Kaskaskia began to decline rapidly. 
The census of 1880 showed but 305 inhabitants. On the 
18th of April, 1881, the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers 
were united, and Kaskaskia became an island of the Mis- 
sissippi, since which time its population has been reduced 
to less than 150, and but a few years at most will pass 
before all that remains of this historic place will mingle 
with the debris of the father of waters. It is worthy of 
note, however, to say that the house where the first Ter- 
ritorial Legislature met, is still in a good state of pre- 
servation. And it is lamentable that so noted a place 



APPENDIX. 439 

in the history of the country as Kaskaskia can not be 
preserved. 

Vandalia has had a more fortunate career. While the 
town has not grown to a great city, yet it is one of the 
brightest and most pleasant in the State, and is now 
improving rapidly. There are quite a number of substan- 
tial and flourishing manufactories, and two well-conducted 
newspapers — Devwcrat and Union. The old State House 
is intact, and is now used as a court house. 



CHAPTER V. 
SECOND GENERAL AS3EMBLY-1820-22. 



In 1820, the seat of government was removed from Kas- 
kaskia to Vandalia, and the second General Assembly 
convened there December 4, and adjourned February 13, 
1821. Lieut. -Gov. Menard presided over the Senate, and 
James Turner was elected Secretary. John McLean was 
elected Speaker of the House, and Thomas Eeynolds 
Clerk. 

Gov. Bond's administration closed in December, 1822. 
It had been faithful and blameless, and he retired with 
the confidence and respect of the people. Prior to his 
election as Governor he had been a delegate to Congress, 
and held the office of Receiver of Public Moneys, at Kas- 
kaskia. When Gov. Bond was a delegate to Congress, it 
is related of him that he and his wife made the trip from 
Illinois to Washington on horseback. Mr. Bond had six 
children — Thomas S., Emily, Julia E., Mary A., Isabella 
F., and Benjamin N., but all are dead except Dr. Benja- 
min N. Bond, who is a highly respected citizen of Stan- 
bury, Missouri. Julia R. Bond married Col. Frank 



440 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Swanwick, of Eandolph county ; Mary A., Joseph B. Holmes, 
a merchant at Chester ; Isabella F., James P. Craig, of 
Chester. Quite a number of the grand children of Gov. 
Bond reside at Chester, while others make their home on 
the Pacific slope, and others still, in the sunny South. 

Gov. Bond died April 12, 1832, at Kaskaskia, where he 
was buried, but in April, 1881, the remains of himself 
and wife were removed to Chester, and consigned to the 
same vault, over which the State has erected a monument, 
which bears this inscription : 

" In memory of Shadrach Bond, 

The first Governor of the State of Illinois ; 

Born at Fredericktown, Maryland, November 24, A.D. 1778. 

Died at his residence near Kaskaskia, April 12, A.D. 1832. 

In recognition of his valuable public services, 

this monument was erected by the State A.D. 1883. 

Governor Bond filled many oflices of trust and importance, 

all with integrity and honor." 



CHAPTER VI. 
OUR FIRST BANKING. 



The first bank established in the Territory was at Shaw- 
neetown ; it was chartered by an act of the Legislature of 
1816, and limited to twenty years ; the capital could not 
exceed $300,000, and the Territory was authorized to sub- 
scribe one-third of the stock. John Marshall, Daniel Ap- 
person, Samuel Hays, Leonard White and Samuel R. 
Campbell were constituted Commissioners to take sub- 
scriptions. In 1819, an act was passed by the Legislature 
chartering the State Bank of Illinois, for twenty-five years, 
with a capital limited to $4,000,000; the State was to take 



APPENDIX. 441 

$2,000,000 of the stock. The bank was located at Kas- 
kaskia, and subscription books were opened at Kaskaskia, 
Goiconda, Edwardsville, Harrisonville, Belleville, Vienna, 
Carlyle, Palmyra, Carmi, Shawneetown, Palestine, Jones- 
boro and Brownsville. The stock could be paid in State 
warrants. 

In 1821, the Legislature passed an act chartering the 
State Bank of Illinois at Vandalia, with branches at Ed- 
wardsville, Brownsville, Shawneetown, and at the county 
seat of Edwards county. The act provided for issuing 
$300,000 in notes, on the credit of the State. The State 
Treasurer was authorized to deposit the public moneys 
with the bank, and contractors were to be paid in its 
notes. Congress was memorialized to authorize the land- 
offices to receive the notes of the bank in payment for 
lands. The charter of the bank established in 1819 was 
repealed by this act. 

As to the character and operations of this institution, 
Ford's History has this to say: 

" It was founded without money and wholly on the credit 
of the State. It was authorized to issue one, two, three, 
five, ten and twenty-dollar notes, in the likeness of bank 
bills, bearing two per cent, annual interest, and payable by 
the State in ten years. A principal bank was established 
at Vandalia, and four or five branches in other places ; 
the Legislature elected all the directors and officers, a 
large number of whom were members of the Legislature, 
and all of them professional politicians. The bank was 
directed by law to lend its bills to the people, to the amount 
of one hundred dollars, on personal security; and upon the 
security of mortgages upon land for a greater sum. These 
bills were to be receivable in payment of all State and 
county taxes, and for all costs and fees, and salaries of 
public officers ; and if a creditor refused to endorse on his 
execution his willingness to receive them in payment of 
debt, the debtor could replevy or stay its collection for 
three years, by giving personal security. 

" In the summer of 1821, the new bank went into oper- 
ation. Every man who could get an indorser borrowed 
his hundred dollars. The directors, it is believed, were 



442 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OP ILLINOIS. 

all politicians ; and either were then, or expected to be, 
candidates for office. Lending to everybody, and refusing 
none, was the surest road to popularity. Accordingly, 
$300,000 of the new money was soon lent, without much 
attention to security or care for eventual payment. It 
first fell twenty-five cents, then fifty, and then seventy cents 
below par. And as the bills of the Ohio and Kentucky 
banks had driven all other money out of the State, so 
this new issue effectually kept it out. Such a total ab- 
sence was there of the silver coins, that it became utterly 
impossible, in the course of trade, to make small change. 
The people, from necessity, were compelled to cut the new 
bills into two pieces, so as to make two halves of a dollar. 
This again further aided to keep out even the smallest 
silver coin. For about four years there was no other kind 
of money but this uncurrent State bank paper. In the 
meantime, very few persons pretended to pay their debts 
to the bank. More than half of those who had borrowed 
considered what they had gotten from it as so much clear 
gain, and never intended to pay it from the first. 

" By the year 1824, it became impossible to carry on 
the State government with such money. The State reve- 
nue varied from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars per 
annum, which was raised almost exclusively by a tax on 
lands, then owned by non-residents, in the military tract 
lying northwest of the Illinois river. The resident land tax 
in other parts of the State was paid into the county treas- 
uries. The annual expenditures of the State government 
were about equal to the annual revenues ; and as the 
taxes were collected in the bills of the State bank, the 
Legislature, to carry on the government, was compelled to 
provide for its own pay, and that of all the public officers, 
and the expenses of the government, by takmg and giving 
enough of the depreciated bills to equal in value the sums 
required to be paid. So that each member, instead of re- 
ceiving three dollars per day, received nine dollars per day. 
The salaries of the Governor and Judges, and all other 
expenses, were paid in the same way. So that, if $30,000 
was required to pay the expenses of government for a 
year, under this system it took $90,000 to do it. And 
thus, by the financial aid of an insolvent bank, the legis- 
lature managed to treble the public expenses, without in- 
creasing the revenues or amount of service to the State. 
In fact, this State lost two-thirds of its revenue, and ex- 
pended three times the amount necessary to carry on the 
government. In the course of ten years it must have lost 



APPENDIX. 443 

more than $150,000, by receiving depreciated currency; 
$150,000 more by paying it out, and $100,000 of the loana, 
which were never repaid by the borrowers, and which the 
State had to make good, by receiving the bills of the bank 
for taxes, by funding some at six per cent, interest, and 
paying a part in cash in the year 1831." 

The result of all this was that the banks became insol- 
vent, and everywhere hard times prevailed, and in 1843, 
the Legislature passed an act compelling the banks to go 
into liquidation, and here ended the first trials of the 
people with reckless banking. 

First Canvass before the People for Governor. 

In 1822, there were no distinctive parties in Illinois, and 
the race for Governor was free for all. The candidates 
were Joseph Phillips, then Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court; Edward Coles, Eegister of the Land office at Ed- 
wardsville ; Thomas C. Browne, Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court, and James B. Moore, General of the State 
Militia. The State was then very sparsely settled. The 
election took place in August, and the total vote of all 
the candidates was but 6,309. Coles received 2,810 ; Phil- 
lips, 2,760 ; Moore, 522, and Browne, 217. Coles' plurality 
over Phillips was but 50. There is a striking contrast 
between the vote of the State then and now. In the elec- 
tion of 1880, the total vote for State officers was 620,995. 

It will be observed that there were two candidates for 
the office of Governor from the Supreme Court. Since 
then, however, the Supreme Court has been tacitly 
divorced from the politics of the State, out of deference to 
to an unmistakable expression of public sentiment in favor 
of a pure, unpartizan judiciary. 



444 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

STATE GOVERNMENT-1822-26, 



The second State Government was inaugurated Decem- 
ber 5, 1822, with Edward Coles, of Madison, as Governor; 
Adolphus S. Hubbard, of Gallatin, Lieutenant-Governor; 
Samuel D. Lockwood, of Madison, Secretary of State; 
Eiijah C. Berry, of Fayette, Auditor of Public Accounts; 
E. K. McLaughlin, of Fayette, Treasurer ; James Turney, 
of Washington, Attorney-General, 

The Third General Assembly convened December 2, 1822, 
and adjourned February 11, 1823. Lieut. -Gov. Hubbard 
presided over the Senate, and Thomas Lippincott was 
elected Secretary. William M. Alexander was elected 
Speaker of the House, and Charles Dunn Clerk. 

This was a stormy session. In the campaign, in which 
Gov. Coles was elected, the question of making Illinois a 
slave State had been broadly mooted, and a pro-slavery 
Legislature had been elected. In his inaugural address 
Gov. Coles took strong ground against slavery, which 
arrayed both branches of the Legislature against him, but 
of the final outcome of the controversy we speak at length 
in a subsequent chapter. 




icONTAyud Ccru^ 



APPENDIX. 445 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Early Salt Making— Gov. Coles on Titles— Gen. Lafayette's Visit to Illinois 
— Shawneetown in 1817. 



Early Salt Making. 

One of the most interesting subjects of the pioneer his- 
tory of the State is salt making in Gallatin county. Tra- 
dition says that the salt springs near Equality were ex- 
tensively worked by the prehistoric race of the continent, 
long before the Anglo-Saxon race had penetrated the wilds 
of Illinois. The evaporating kettles used were found at 
Negro Salt Springs and at Salt Lick, near Equality. The 
kettles were between three and four feet in diameter, made 
of clay and pounded shells, moulded in basket-work or 
cloth, which left the impression on the outside of the kettle 
and looked like artistic hand-work. Little or no'ihing is 
known as to the length of time the springs were worked 
by the Indians, but Congress gave attention to the subject 
in 1812. On the 12th of February of that year, an act was 
passed setting apart six miles square of land to support 
the Equality Salines, Under Congressional authority the 
springs were leased to parties to work. The labor was 
nearly all performed by slaves brought from Kentucky and 
Tennessee, of which reference is made in Article six. Sec- 
tion two, of the Constitution of 1818, Many of tbese ne- 
groes, by extra work, saved sufficient money to buy th<4r 
freedom, and these were the negroes from whom descended 



446 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the large number that resided in Gallatin and Saline 
counties before the war for the Union. Salt, under the 
Government leases, sold at $5 per bushel, and found a 
ready market in Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama 
and Missouri, It was transported in keel-boats up the 
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and to St. Louis in the 
same manner. The inhabitants of the neighboring States 
would often come hundreds of miles upon horseback and 
carry away the salt on pack-saddles. 

In 1818, Congress gave these lands to Illinois, and the 
.State continued the leasing system, furnishing the kettles. 
Among the lessees we call to mind Leonard White, Timo- 
ihy Guard, Chalin Guard, E. D. Taylor and John Cren- 
shaw. The last lease made was to Mr. Crenshaw, Decem- 
ber 9, 1840; it was for ten years. He became very 
wealthy, and at one time exercised a large political influ- 
ence in that portion of the State. 

All the lessees are dead except Mr. Taylor, who is now 
an old man, and resides at LaSalle. 

Under an act of the General Assembly of February 23, 
1847, the lands were sold, and the school trustees of T. 9, 
E. 9, bought that portion containing the salt wells. In 
1852, the lands were sold at public auction, and in 1854, 
Castles & Temple took charge of the property and devel- 
oped it by an improved system which had its origin in 
France, and through this system produced two hundred 
barrels of salt per day. As late as 1870, it was no uncom- 
mon thing to see from three to four wagons drawn by 
from four to six mules, on the road between Equality 
and Shawneetown, laden with salt for the various markets 
of the South and West. But in 1873, Castles & Tem- 
ple, in consequence of the panic, over-production and 
ruinous prices, closed the works, and engaged in the man- 
ufacture of coke and mining, on the same property. 



appendix. 447 

Governor Coles on Titles. 

One of the most noted of the Governors of Illinois, was 

Edward Coles, who was as modest as he was able, as the 

following letter, which we find in "Washburne's Sketch of 

Edward Coles," addressed to the editors of the Illinois 

Intelligencer, will show: 

"Vandalia, Dec. 10, 1822. 
"Gentlemen : — Our State constitution gives to the per- 
son exercising the functions of the Executive the appella- 
tion of Governor — a title which is specific, intelhgible and 
republican, and amply sufiicient to denote the dignity of 
the ofiice. In your last paper you have noticed me by 
the addition of 'His Excellency,' an aristocratic and 
high-sounding adjunct, which I am sorry to say has be- 
come too common among us, not only in newspaper com- 
munications, but in the addressing of letters, and even in 
familiar discourse. It is a practice disagreeable to my 
feelings, and inconsistent, as I think, with the dignified 
simiilicity of freemen, and to the nature of the vocation 
of those to whom it is applied. And having made it a 
rule through life to address no one as His Excellency, 
or the Honorable, or by any such unmeaning title, I trust 
I shall be pardoned for asking it as a favor of you, and 
my fellow-citizens generally, not to apply them to me. 
" I am, &c., &c., 

" Edward Coles. 
" Messrs. Brown & Berry, 

" Editors of the Illinois Intelligencer." 

Gen. Lafayette Visits Illinois. 

When Gen. Lafayette, the great French patriot, who 
came to America during the revolutionary war, and ren- 
dered such valuable aid, with men and money, in prose- 
cuting the war for our independence, visited the United 
States in 1825, he came to Illinois, at the request of the 
General Assembly. (See Washburne's Sketch of Coles.) 
He visited two places, Kaskaskia and Shawneetown. At 
Kaskaskia, Gov. Coles, who had met the old soldier in 
Paris seven years previous, made the address of welcome, 
and he was elegantly entertained by the Governor and 



448 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

other distinguished citizens. From there he proceeded to 
Shawneetown, accompanied by Gov. Coles, where the citi- 
zens came out en masse to welcome him ; carpets were 
spread from the steamboat landing to the Kawlins' man- 
sion, where a grand banquet was tendered him, and the 
little girls lined his pathway with sweet May flowers, for 
that was the month in which he was there. The house 
at which he was entertained in Shawneetown is still 
standing, but that at Kaskaskia, like the great patriot 
himself, has long since given way to the cycles of time. 

Shawnehtown in 1817. 

In the early settlement of Illinois, Shawneetown, like 

Kaskaskia, was one of the few important towns in the 

country. Indeed Shawneetown was the gateway to the 

Territory. Morris Birkbeck, in his "Notes on a Journey 

in America," printed in London, in 1818, writing under 

date of August 2, 1817, speaks thus of Shawneetown: 

"This place I account as a phenomenon, evincing the 
pertinacious adhesion of the human animal to the spot 
where it has once fixed itself. As the lava of Mt. ^tna 
can not dislodge this strange being from the cities which 
have been repeatedly ravaged by its eruptions, so the Ohio, 
with its annual overflowings, is unable to wash away tbe 
inliabitants of Shawneetown. Here is the land office for 
the Southeast district of Illinois, where I have just con- 
stituted myself a land-owner, by paying seven hundred 
and twenty dollars as one-fourth of the purchase money 
of fourteen hundred and forty acres. This, with a simi- 
lar purchase made by Mr. Flower, is part of a beautiful 
and rich prairie, about six miles distant from the Big, 
and the same distance from the Little, Wabash." 

The gentleman referred to here by Mr. Birkbeck, was 
George Flower, who was one of the founders of the Eng- 
lish colony in Edwards county, in 1817-18, which settle- 
ment has proved a monument to his memory, for the 
people who came with him were of the highest order, and 
Edwards county has ever been famed for the intelligence 
and good order of its inhabitants. 



APPENDIX. 449 

An act was passed by Congress in 1814, providing for 
laying off two sections of land in town lots at Shawnee- 
town, which was to be done under the supervision of tlie 
Surveyor-General. (See U. S. Laws-at-large, 1813-20.) 
The same year the town was incorporated by the Legis- 
ture. (See Public Laws of Illinois of 1814.) 

Mr. Birkbeck was a prominent and honored citizen of 
Illinois in his day, and took an active part with Gov. 
Coles in his efforts to prevent Illinois from becoming a 
slave State. He was Secretary of State from October 15, 
1624, to January 15, 1825, when he resigned. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY- 1824-26, 



The Fourth General Assembly convened November 15, 
1824, and adjourned January 18, 1825. A second session 
convened January 2, 1826, and adjourned January 28, 
Lieut. -Gov. Hubbard presided over the Senate, and 
Raphael Widen was elected Secretary. Thomas Mather was 
elected Speaker of the House, and David Biackwell Clerk. 

David Biackwell, of St. Clair, became Secretary of State 
April 2, 1823, and resigned October 15, 1824, and was suc- 
ceeded by Morris Birkbeck, of Edwards. 

Abner Field, of Union, became Treasurer, January 14, 
1823. 

George Forquer, of Sangamon, became Secretary of State 
in 1825. 

Gov. Coles retired from office December 6, 1826. His 
administration was an eventful one. He had boldly met 
—29 



450 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the party which had atttempted to make Illinois a slave 
State, and triumphantly defeated it, and thus preserved 
our fair inheritance to freedom. 

Gov. Coles was horn in Albemarle county, Virginia, 
December 15, 1786; he graduated at William and Mary 
College ; was Private Secretary to President Madison, who 
sent him on a mission to Piussia, in 1817. On his return, 
in 1818, he removed to Illinois. 

After his retirement from the office of Governor he 
mingled but little in politics, and in 1833 removed to 
Philadelphia, where he died July 7, 1868. His widow, 
his eldest son Edward, and a daughter, survived him. Gov. 
Coles was the companion and friend of such eminent men 
as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Nicholas Biddle and 
James Monroe, with whom he was in frequent correspond- 
ence ; and he wielded a considerable influence in shaping 
the affairs of the country. 



CHAPTER X, 
SLAVERY IN ILLINOIS. 



When and How Slaves were Held in lUinois-Gallatia County made an Ex- 
ception in the Constitution— An Attempt in 1822 to make Illinois a Slave 
State— Vote of the House of Ropresentatives on the Question— A Hot 
Campaign before the People— Vote of the State Against Slavery. 



Illinois being originally a part of Virginia, there were 
naturally quite a number of slaves in the Territory when 
it was ceded to the United States, in 1784, and it was then 
stipulated that persons who claimed to have been citizens of 
Virginia prior to the cession should be protected in their 
property, which meant that they should be protected in the 
right to hold their slaves. But in 1787, Congress passed 



■>> 




cy/Td-^^^^^^f^^ 



APPENDIX. 461 

an ordinance which declared that neither slavery nor in- 
voluntary servitude should exist in the Northwestern Ter- 
ritory, of which Illinois was a part ; and it will be observed 
that the framers of the constitution of 1818 endeavored 
to carry out the will of Congress. Sections 1, 2 and 3 of 
Article 6 read thus : 

1. " Neither slavery or involuntary servitude shall here- 
after be introduced mto this State, otherwise than for the 
punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted ; nor shall any male person, arrived at the 
age of 21 years, nor female person arrived at the age of 
18 years, be held to serve any person as a servant, under 
any indenture hereafter made, unless such person shall 
enter into such indenture while in a state of perfect free- 
dom, and on condition of a bona Jide consideration received 
or to be received for their service. Nor shall any inden- 
ture of any negro or mulatto, hereafter made and executed 
out of this State, or, if made in this State, where the 
term of service exceeds one year, be of the least validity, 
except those given in cases of apprenticeship. 

2. " No person bound to labor in any other State, shall 
be hired to labor in this State, except within the tract 
reserved for the salt works near Shawneetown, nor even 
at that place for a longer period than one year at any 
one time ; nor shall it be allowed there after the year 
1825, Any violation of this article shall effect the eman- 
cipation of such person from his obligation to service. 

3. " Each and every person who has been bound to service 
by contract or indenture in virtue of the laws of Illinois 
Territory heretofore existing, and in conformity to the pro- 
visions of t.he same, without fraud or collusion, shall be 
held to a specific performance of their contracts or in- 
dentures ; and such negroes and mulattoes as have been 
registered in conformity with the aforesaid laws, shall serve 
out the time appointed by said laws : Provided, howp.ver, 
that the children hereafter born of such person, negroes 
or mulattoes, shall become free, the males at the age of 21 
years, the females at the age of 18 years. Each and every 
child born of indentured parents, shall be entered with the 
clerk of the county in which they reside, by their owners, 
within six months after the birth of said child." 

While Illinois was in no true sense a slave State, yet 

slavery existed in the State until 1840. The United States 



452 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Census of 1810, shows that there were 168 slaves in the 
Territory ; that of 1820, that there were 917 in the State ; 
that of 1830, 747 ; that of 1840, 331, and that of 1850, that 
the institution had become utterly extinct so far as the 
force of law governed it. Slavery, however, did not exist 
in the sense that it did in the slaves States proper, but 
merely in the form of an indenture. 

But the constitution of 1818 did not fully settle the 
agitation of the slavery question in the State, for a most 
determined effort was made during the administration of 
Governor Coles to change the organic 'law so as to make 
Illinois a slave State, and the effort seems to have been 
as dishonest as it was earnest. 

In his inaugural address, in December, 1822, Gov. Coles 
took the ground that, notwithstanding slavery was pro- 
hibited by the Ordinance of 1787, and by the constitution 
itself, yet it existed in Illinois, and he sought to impress 
upon the attention of the law-making power the idea that 
the institution was inhuman and morally wrong, and that 
it was the duty of the General Assembly to pass such 
laws as would effectually overthrow the institution in what- 
ever form it might exist. But this rational and just rec- 
ommendation was utterly disregarded by the pro-slavery 
men, who, being largely in the majority, deliberately went 
to work to put in motion the machinery by which the 
constitution was to be so changed as to make of Illinois 
a slave State. In both houses the pro-slavery men had a 
large majority; but when the final test came in the House, 
they lacked one vote of having the required constitutional 
majority. The journal of the House of that session shows 
that there had been a contest between Nicholas Hansen, 
anti-slavery, and John Shaw, pro-slavery, both of Pike 
county ; and that on the 9th of December, 1822, the House 
declared Hansen entitled to the seat. But when it became 
evident to the pro-slavery men that they needed one 



APPENDIX. 453 

additional vote to insure the passage of a resolution calling 
a convention to amend or revise the constitution, Alexander 
P. Fields, of Union county, moved to reconsider the mo- 
tion by which Hansen was admitted. This was on the 
28th of January, 1823, over two months after Mr. Hansen 
had been declared entitled to represent his district in that 
body. It was pretended that some new evidence had been 
developed, and on this pretext Hansen was unseated and 
John Shaw admitted in his place. The convention reso- 
lution having previously passed the Senate, needed only 
the formality of a vote in the House to render its passage 
certain, and the election for a convention to frame a new 
constitution was therefore called for the first Monday in 
August, 1824. The contest was a bitter one from the very 
first hour the question was mooted, and it grew in bitter- 
ness as the canvass progressed. 

Speaking of the passage of the convention resolution, 
Ex-Gov. Eeynolds, himself a pro-slavery man, thus refers 
to the proceedings of the General Assembly : " This pro- 
ceeding in the General Assembly looked revolutionary, and 
was condemned by all honest and reflecting men. This 
outrage was a death-blow to the convention." 

Ex-Gov. Ford, in his History of Illinois, bears testimony 
to the same effect, wherein he says : 

" The night after this resolution passed, the convention 
party assembled to triumph in a great carousal. They 
formed themselves into a noisy, disorderly, and tumultu- 
ous procession, headed by Judge Phillips, Judge Smith, 
Judge Thomas Eeynolds, late Governor of Missouri, and 
Lieutenant-Governor Kinney, followed by the majority of 
the Legislature, and the hangers-on and rabble about the 
seat of Government ; and they marched, with the blowing 
of tin horns and the beating of drums and tin pans, to 
the residence of Gov. Coles, and to the boarding houses of 
their principal opponents, towards whom they manifested 
their contempt and displeasure by a confused medley of 
groans, wailings and lamentations. Their object was to 
intimidate, and crush all opposition at once." 



454 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The Judge Phillips referred to was then the Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court of the State, and his appearance in 
such company and in such a cause, shows how deeply 
seated was the slave power upon the very vitals of our 
State. The contest, as we have said, was waged with won- 
derful energy on both sides. Gov. Coles was the chosen 
leader of the anti-slavery party, and to his courage and 
sagacity may be ascribed the fact that Illinois was not 
cursed with the blight of slavery. We quote another pas- 
sage from Ford's history, as the best means of getting be- 
fore the reader the true character of the campaign : 

" The anti-convention party took new courage, and 
rallied to a man. They established newspapers to oppose 
the convention : one at Shawneetown, edited by Henry 
Eddy ; one at Edwardsville, edited by Hooper Warren, 
with Gov. Coles, Thomas Lippincott, George Churchill, 
and Judge Lockwood, for its principal contributors; and 
finally, one at Vandalia, edited by David Blackwell, the 
Secretary of State, The slave party had established a 
newspaper at Kaskaskia, under the direction of Mr. Kane 
a.nd Chief Justice Eeynolds ; and one at Edwardsville, 
edited by Judge Smith : and both parties prepared to 
appeal to the interests, the passions, and the intelligence 
of the people. The contest was mixed with much personal 
abuse; and now was poured forth a perfect avalanche of 
detraction, which, if it were not for the knowledge of the 
people that such matters are generally false, or greatly 
exaggerated, would have overwhelmed and consumed all 
men's reputations. Morris Birkbeck, an Englishman, who 
settled an English colony in Edwards county. Gov. Coles, 
David Blackwell, George Churchill, and Thomas Lippin- 
cott, wrote fiery hand-bills and pamphlets, and the old 
preachers preached against a convention and slavery. 
Elias K, Kane, Judge Thomas Reynolds, Judge Samuel 
McEoberts, Judge Smith, and others, wrote hand-bills and 
pamphlets in its favor. These missive weapons of a fiery 
contest were eagerly read by the people. The State was 
almost covered with them ; they flew everywhere, and 
everywhere they scorched and scathed as they flew. This 
was a long, excited, angry and bitter contest. It was to 
last from the spring of 1823, until the August election of 
1824 ; the rank and file of the people were no less excited 



APPENDIX. 455 

than their political leaders. Almost every stump in every 
county had its bellowing orator, on one side or the other; 
and the whole people, for the space of eighteen months, 
did scarcely anything but read newspapers, hand-bills and 
pamphlets, quarrel, argue, and wrangle with each other 
whenever they met together to hear the violent harangues 
of their orators. The people decided by about two thou- 
sand majority in favor of a free State. Thus, after one 
of the most bitter, prolonged and memorable contests 
which ever convulsed the politics of the State, the ques- 
tion of making Illinois a slave State was put to rest." 

The vote of the counties, and there were then but 
thirty in the entire State, as shown by the election re- 
turns in the office of the Secretary of State, was, for 
convention, 4,950 ; against, 6,822 — majority against conven- 
tion, 1,872. 

Subsequently, the question as to the right to hold slaves 
in the State under the indenture system, was frequently 
brought before the Supreme Court, but no further attempt 
was ever made to fasten the institution upon the State 
through the organic law. 



CHAPTER XL 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1826-1830. 



The third State government was inaugurated December 
6, 1826, with Ninian Edwards, of Madison, as Governor; 
Wm. Kinney, of St. Clair, Lieutenant-Governor; George 
Forqaer, of Sangamon, Secretary of State and Attorney- 
General; Elijah C. Berry, Auditor of Public Accounts, 
and Abner Field, of Union, Treasurer. 

The Fifth General Assembly convened December 4, 1826, 
and adjourned February 9, 1827. Lieut.-Gov. Kinney 
presided over the Senate, and Emanuel J. West was 
elected Secretary. John McLean was elected Speaker of 
the House, and Wm. L. D, Ewing Clerk. 



456 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

In this Assembly was Wm. S. Hamilton, of Sangamon, 
a son of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the 
Treasury, who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, who 
was Vice-President under Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Wm. S. 
Hamilton was born in New York, and came to Illinois in 
1817, settling in Sangamon county. He emigrated to 
Wisconsin in 1827, and from thence to California, where 
he distinguished himself. He died in that State October 
9, 1850, and a monument marks his resting place. 



CHAPTER XII. 
CAIRO IN 1818. 



As far back as 1818, the territory now occupied by the 
city of Cairo was regarded as one of the best sites in Illi- 
nois for a flourishing city, and it will be both interesting 
and amusing to read the following preamble to an act 
which was approved January 9, 1818, incorporating the 
place : 

" And, whereas, the said proprietors represent that there 
is, in their opinion, no position in the whole of the extent 
of these Western States better calculated, as respects com- 
mercial advantages and local supply, for a great and im- 
portant city, than that afforded by the junction of these 
two great highways — the Mississippi and Ohio rivers ; but 
that nature, having denied to the extreme point formed 
by their union a sufficient degree of elevation to protect 
the improvements made thereon from the ordinary inunda- 
tions of the adjacent waters, such elevation is to be found 
only upon the tract above mentioned (the present site of 
Cairo), so that improvements made and located thereon 
may be deemed perfectly and absolutely secure from all 
such ordinary inundations, and liable to injury only from 
the concurrence of unusually high and simultaneous inun- 
dations in both of said rivers — an event which is alleged 



APPENDIX, 457 

but rarely happens, and the injurious consequences of 
which it is considered practicable, by proper embankments, 
wholly and effectually and permanently to obviate. And, 
whereas, there is no doubt but a city, erected at, or as 
near as is practicable to, the junction of the Ohio and 
Mississippi rivers, provided it be thus secured by sufficient 
embankments, or in such other way as experience may 
prove most efficacious for that purpose, from every such 
extraordinary inundation — must necessarily become a place 
of vast consequence to the prosperity of this growing Ter- 
ritory, and, in fact, to that of the greater part of the in- 
habitants of these Western States. And, whereas, the 
above named persons are desirous of erecting such city, 
under the sanction and patronage of the Legislature of 
this Territory, and also of providing for the security and 
prosperity of the same, and to that end propose to appro- 
priate the one- third of ail the moneys arising from the 
sale and disposition of the lots into which the same may 
be surveyed, as a fund for the construction and preserva- 
tion of such dykes, levees and other embankments as may 
be necessary to render the same perfectly secure ; and, 
also, if such fund shall be deemed sufficient thereto, for 
the erection of public edifices and such other improve- 
ments in the said city as may be, from time to time, con- 
sidered expedient and practicable, and to appropriate the 
other two-thirds parts of the said purchase moneys to the 
operation of banking." (See Laws of the Session of 1818.) 

John G. Comyges, Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, 
Thomas F. Herbert, Shadrach Bond, Michael Jones, War- 
ren Brown, Edward Humphreys and Charles W. Hunter 
were designated as proprietors of the then prospective city. 

In the sixty-six years that have passed since this legis- 
lation, Cairo has had a hard struggle for the mastery of 
the floods. In the spring of 1882-83-84, respectively, the 
height of the rivers exceeded that of all former years, yet 
the levees successfully resisted the pressure of the water, 
which clearly demonstrates that human skill has placed 
Cairo beyond the power of the floods. 



458 POLITICS AND POLmOIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

PEORIA IN 1824, 



Peoria, now with her forty thousand busy, prosperous 
people, her many grand railways, her great commerce, her 
immense manufactories, and her flourishing schools, col- 
leges and churches, had but a feeble existence when Ed- 
ward Coles was Governor. In a report to the Secretary 
of the Treasury (See Peck's Gazetteer of 1834), regarding 
the title to town lots in the then village of Peoria, Mr. 
Coles made the following minute reference to the early 
history of the place, which, in view of the great achieve- 
ments since, is worthy of preserving as a part of the his- 
tory of the State: 

" The village of Peoria is situated on the northwest shore 
of Lake Peoria, about one and a half miles above the 
lower extremity or outlet of the lake. This village had 
been inhabited by the French previous to the recollection 
of any of the present generation. About the year 1778, 
the first house was built, in what was then called Laville 
de Maillet — afterwards the new village of Peoria — and of 
late the place has been known by the name of Fort Clark. 
The situation being preferred in consequence of the water 
bemg better, and its being thought more healthy, the in- 
habitants gradually deserted the old village, and, by the 
year 1796 or 1797, had entirely abandoned it and removed 
to the new village. 

" The inhabitants of Peoria consisted generally of Indian 
traders, hunters and voyagers, and had formed a link of 
connection between the French residing on the waters of 
the great lakes and the Mississippi river. From that 
happy facility of adapting themselves to their situation 
and associates, for which the French are so remarkable, 
the inhabitants of Peoria lived generally in harmony with 
their savage neighbors. It would seem, however, that 
about the year 1781, they were induced to abandon their 
village from the apprehension of Indian hostilities ; but soon 
afier the peace of 1783, they again returned to it, and con- 
tinued to reside there until the autumn of 1812, when they 
were forcibly removed from it and the place destroyed by 
a Capt. Craig, of the Illinois miiitia, on the ground, it was 



APPENDIX. 459 

said, that he and his company were fired on in the night, 
while at anchor in the boats, before the village, by the 
Indians, with whom the inhabitants were suspected, by 
Craig, to be too intimate and friendly. The inhabitants 
of Peoria, it would appear, and from all I can learn, 
settled there without any grant or permission from the 
authority of any government ; that the only title they had 
to the land was derived from possession." 



CHAPTER XIII 
SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1828-30. 



The Sixth General Assembly convened December 1, 1828, 
and adjourned January 23, 1829. Lieut. -Gov. Kinney pre- 
sided over the Senate, and Emanuel J. West served as 
Secretary. John McLean was elected Speaker of the House, 
and William L. D. Ewing Clerk. 

James Hall, of Jackson, became Treasurer February 12, 
1827. Alex. P. Field, of Union, became Secretary of State 
December 31, 1828. 

Ninian Edwards ceased to be Governor December 9, 1830. 
Mr. Edwards discharged the duties of the Executive with 
ease to himself and satisfaction to the people, having had 
nine years experience as Governor of the Territory. 

Gov. Edwards was born in Montgomery county, Mary- 
land, March, 1775. He graduated at Dickinson College ; 
studied both medicine and law, but devoted himself to the 
practice of law. Removing to Kentucky, he was twice 
elected to the Legislature ; he was appointed Circuit Clerk 
and subsequently Judge of the General Court of Kentucky ; 
Judge of the Circuit Court ; Judge of the Court of Appeals, 
and finally Chief Justice of the State, wliich position he 



460 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

resigned to accept the office of Governor of the Territory 
of Illinois, and, while holding this trust, he had many- 
conflicts with the Indians. Before Congress had adopted 
any measures on the subject of volunteer rangers, he organ- 
ized companies, supplied them wiLh arms, built stockade 
forts, and established a line of posts from the mouth of 
the Missouri to the Wabash river, and was thus enabled 
to protect the people against the assaults of the Indians. 

Gov. Edwards had three sons, Ninian W., Albert G. and 
Benjamin S. — all of whom are living; and two daughters, 
Julia Catherine, who married Daniel P. Cook, and Mary 
B., who married Joseph S. Lane, of St. Louis, Missouri, 
— both of whom died some years ago. 

Gov. Edwards died July 20, 1833. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
ALTON AS A RIVAL TO ST. LOUIS. 



Alton as a Rival to St. Louis— Massacre at Fort Massac— One of the Land- 
marks of 1837. 



One of the things contemplated in the internal improve- 
ment system of this State in 1837, was to make Alton the 
rival of St. Louis, as a great commercial center; and all 
who did not bow down to that idea were regarded as com- 
mon enemies of the State, but it is interesting to know 
that all our pubhc men did not accept as practical the 
policy of confining our commerce and the business of our 
railroads within the limits of the State. Among the pro- 
jected roads was one from Alton to Mt. Carmel, known 
as the Southern Cross railroad. Governor Zadok Casey, 



At>PENr)ix. 461 

father of the well-known Samuel K. Casey, and also of 
Thomas S. and Newton E. Casey, hardly less well-known, 
clearly saw the inutility of making Alton its terminus, 
and made an earnest effort to secure its diversion to St. 
Louis, but it was unavailing, as the following incident will 
show : He planned an extensive campaign along the pro- 
posed line, and made his opening speech at Fairfield, and, 
as it turned out, his last one on the subject. A great 
crowd gathered on the public square of that village, now 
a thriving little city, and the Governor, a man of fine 
presence and pleasing address, mounted a goods-box and 
proceeded to open up the subject in a manner which 
brought forth hearty applause, but when he suggested 
St. Louis, instead of Alton, as the terminus of the road, 
a change came over the spirit of his hearers, and they 
unceremoniously assisted him off the hox; and here ended 
his campaign in the interest of a railroad from Mt. Carmel 
to St. Louis. But it is creditable to his foresight to say 
that such a road is now in operation. It is known as the 
Air-Line, running from Louisville to St. Louis, and tra- 
verses the identical section of country mapped out by 
Gov. Casey forty-six years ago. 

Massacre at Fort Massao. 

Peck's Gazetteer of Illinois, of 1834, gives the following 
interesting account of an Indian massacre of French sol- 
diers at Fort Massac, in what is now Massac county, 
when Illinois was owned by the French government : 

"Fort Massac, formerly a military post, was situated 
on the Ohio river, on the dividing line of Johnson and 
Pope counties, eight miles below Paducah, at the mouth 
of the Tennessee. A fort was erected here by the French 
when in possession of the Western country. The Indians, 
then at war with them, laid a curious stratagem to take 
it. A number of them appeared in the day time on the 
opposite side of the river, each of whom was covered with 
a bear skin and walked on all fours. Supposing them to 



462 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

be bears, a party of the French crossed the river in pur- 
suit of them. The remainder of the troops left their 
quarters, to see the sport. 

"In the meantime a largo body of warriors, who were 
concealed in the woods near by, came silently behind the 
fort, entered it without opposition, and very few of the 
French escaped the massacre. They afterwards built 
another fort on the same ground, and called it Massac, 
in memory of this disastrous event." 

On this memorable spot there is not now a vestige of 
the old fort. 

One op the Landmarks op 1837. 

One of the few landmarks of the internal improvement 
system of 1837, is the bank building of the "Bank of 
Illinois," of Shawneetown, which was erected in 1838-40. 
It is of massive stone and brick, four stories high, fifty 
feet front and ninety feet deep. It is of Doric architect- 
ure, with five solid stone columns, forty feet high and 
sixty inches in diameter. The building, which cost $S3,000, 
is imposing in appearance, and although constructed forty- 
six years ago, would grace any of our modern cities. 
The "Bank of Illinois" had six branches — Galena, Quincy, 
Alton, Jacksonville, Pekin, and Lawrenceville. The bank 
and its branches were forced to close business in 1843, 
and the banking house at Shawneetown was sold some 
years after to Joel A, Matteson, who started a bank there 
in 1853 or 1854, in charge of A. B, Safiford, as cashier. 
Subsequently Mr. S afford removed to Cairo, when L. B. 
Leach took control of it until the war for the Union en- 
sued, when the bank ceased to do business, and Mr. 
Matteson, fearing that the country would be overrun by 
the rebels, sold it to Thos. S. Eidgway, for the trifling 
sum of $6,500, and since 1865 it has been occupied by 
the "First National Bank," with John McKee Peeples as 
President, and Thos. S. Ridgway as Cashier, until the 
death of Mr. Peeples, when Mr. Ridgway became Presi- 
dent, and Wm. D. Phile Cashier. 



APPENDIX. 463 



CHAPTER XV. 
STATE GOVERNMENT-1830-34. 



The fourth State government was inaugurated December 
9, 1830, with John Eeynolds, of St. Clair, as Governor; 
Zadok Casey, of Jefferson, Lieutenant-Governor; Alex. P. 
Field, of Union, Secretary of State ; James T. B. Stapp, 
of Fayette, Auditor of Public Accounts; James Hall, of 
Jackson, Treasurer; George Forquer, of Sangamon, At- 
torney-General. 

The Seventh General Assembly convened December 6, 
1830, and adjourned February 16, 1831. Lieut.-Gov. 
Casey presided over the Senate, and Jesse B, Thomas was 
elected Secretary. Wm. L. D. Ewing was elected Speaker 
of the House, and David Prickett, Clerk. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
PROGRESS IN SCHOOLS. 



Novel School Laws— School Tax Paid in Produce— Alton the first to Es- 
tiiblish a Free School— Norm;il ychools— Colleges— State Teachers' Asso- 
elation— Prominent Educators— Superintendents of Public Instruction- 
School Journals. 



Among all the grand achievements of our State, there 
is none of which the people have reason to feel a greater 
pride than in the progress made in the school system. 
Its success has been the foundation stone of all other 
successes, whether moral, religious or industrial. A con- 
templation of the past and present of the system can not 
fail to prove both entertaining and instructive, if not 
amusing. 



464 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The General Assembly of 1821 passed an act which 
authorized Upper Alton to levy a tax not exceeding sev- 
enty-five cents on each town lot, to be applied to the 
support of teachers, erection of school buildings or repair- 
ing. The proprietors of Upper Alton having donated one 
hundred town lots, one-half of which was for the support 
of the gospel, and the other half for the support of public 
schools, the act exempted these lots from this tax. 
Under this act Alton established the first free school, 
which was declared to be free to all, of suitable age, 
within the limits of the town. Up to this time no school 
system had been adopted, and no provision made by the 
General Assembly for the support of the schools, with the 
exception of the small amount realized from leasing the 
school lands. In 1825, the General Assembly passed the 
first act establishing free schools throughout the State, 
the preamble of which reads as follows : 

" To enjoy our rights and liberties we must understand 
them ; their security and protection ought to be the first 
object of a free people ; and it is a well-established fact, 
that no nation has ever continued long ^in the enjoyment 
of civil and political freedom, which was not both vii'tuous 
and enlightened. And believing that the advancement of 
literature always has been and ever will be the means of 
more fully developing the rights of man ; that the mind 
of every citizen in a republic is the common property of 
society, and constitutes the basis of its strength and hap- 
piness, it is therefore considered the pecuhar duty of a 
free government, like ours, to encourage and extend the 
improvement and cultivation of the intellectual energies 
of the whole." 

Section one provided that there should be established a 

common school or schools in each of the counties of the 

State, which should be open and free to every class of 

white citizens between the ages of five and twenty-one 

years ; provided, that persons over the age of twenty-one 

years might be admitted into such schools on such terms 

as the trustees might prescribe. The schools were wholly 



APPENDIX. 465 

binder the direction of the trustees. The county boards in 
the several counties were required, by the same act, to 
estabUsh school districts containing not less than fifteen 
families. The legal voters were given the power to vote 
an annual tax, either in cash or good merchantable pro- 
duce, upon the inhabitants of their respective districts, 
not exceeding one-half per centum, nor amounting to 
more than ten dollars per annum on any one person, and 
"two dollars out of every hundred received into the State 
^treasury was appropriated for the support of the schools. 
For the purpose of building or repairing school houses, 
supplying furniture and fuel, the people could classify 
themselves and determine the amount of work, material 
■or money, in lieu thereof, each should give. But no one 
was required to contribute in this way unless he sent a 
■child to school. The tax levy, made in produce, might 
he transferred to the teacher, who was empowered to 
make the collection. In case of disagreement as to the 
price of any produce offered, arbitration was provided for. 
But this law went further than the wishes of the people, 
and in 1827 the General Assembly repealed the clause 
making the appropriation of two dollars from the State 
treasury, and the law was further amended so that no 
person might be taxed without his consent. This left the 
support of the schools so precarious that they made but 
little progress. In 1829, the General Assembly passed an 
act which provided for the sale of school and seminary 
lands, which laid the foundation for the present township 
iund system. 

In 1845, the General Assembly again empowered the dis- 
tricts to vote a tax, but a two-thirds vote was required, 
and the tax was limited to fifteen cents upon the hundred 
dollars. This power of taxation was enlarged by the Gen- 
eral Assembly in 1849, and again in 1851. But it was not 
until the enactment of the free school law of 1855, nearly 
—30 



466 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

in the form prepared by Ninian W. Edwards, who had 
been appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
the year before, that the school system was put upon a 
firm basis by the requirement that in each district the 
schools should be maintained for at least six months in 
each year, and by granting the school boards power to 
levy taxes for whatever amount they found necessary for 
building purposes and for current expenses. And a two- 
mill State tax for the support of schools was also author- 
ized. From this time our public school system made 
rapid progress. 

The school for the Feeble-Minded at Lincoln, and the 
schools for the Deaf and Dumb, and for the Blind, at 
Jacksonville, all supported by the State, are properly con- 
sidered a part of the State's system of education. 

The Industrial University, at Champaign, chartered in 
1867, is a State institution of high standing as a school 
of technology and art, and offers tine facilities for an ex- 
tended literary course. It is supported mainly by the in- 
come from the sale of lands, which were donated by Con- 
gress for the establishment of agricultural colleges in the 
several States, and partially by State aid. Tuition fees 
are nominal. Dr. Selim H. Peabody, a man of high char- 
acter and eminent scholarly attainments, is President. 

The State maintains two normal schools, one at Normal 
and the other at Carbondale, partly by the income of 
college and seminary funds, and partly by direct appro- 
priations from the State treasury. In both, tuition is free 
to persons intending to teach. Cook county has for years 
maintained a normal school of high rank, which has been 
liberally patronized. 

In this enlightened age, it would seem hardly necessary 
for us to allude to the purpose of such schools. In the 
minds of some of our people there exists a strong preju- 
dice against the Normal School, and frequent attempts. 



APPENDIX. 467 

have been made in the General Assembly to have the 

laws founding it repealed, and, that no reader may be 

mistaken as to the object of the school, we give place to 

the following extract, from the biennial report of James 

P. Slade, Superintendent of Public Instruction, for 1882, 

bearing upon the subject : 

" It is evident that a large portion of our people have 
no just notion of what the work of a normal school should 
be, nor of the purpose of such a school. Hence it cannot 
be repeated too often that a normal school has no legiti- 
mate purpose but to tit its pupils to teach and manage 
schools ; that nothing is proper to be done in such a school 
which does not tend directly to this result, and that with 
a given body of students, anything essential to fit them 
for the teacher's work, is legitimate in the work of a 
normal school." 

Professor Slade might have carried his remarks farther. 
He might have assumed that the Normal schools of our 
State have been the prime cause of the success of our 
common school system. From them we have obtained our 
most successful teachers ; and we have not only derived 
good teachers from our own Normals, but the bright, ac- 
tive men who graduate in the Normals of the Eastern States 
come West, many of whom locate in Illinois, and become 
invaluable agents in the school work. The Normal sys- 
tem is no Yankee invention, but it is co-extensive with the 
civilized world. In Prussia, where the educational stand- 
ard is of the highest order, no one is allowed to teach 
who has not a certificate from the Normal ; and in our 
own country the Normal system is growing in greater favor 
daily. In many of the older States it has become widely 
founded ; in Pennsylvania there are ten of these schools, 
and in Massachusetts seven, which will suffice to show 
that our State is not over-taxed in this regard. We could 
better afford to have more than less. Education is the 
hope of the world. Let Illinois statesmen do nothing to 
retard its progress. In closing this subject it is just to say 



468 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

that our public schools rank with the best in the United 
States, and in the list of the great States, ours is the 
third in educational advancement. 

In point of Colleges we have made less progress than 
some of the older States, for the reason that we have not 
concentrated our energies in that direction. Where other 
States have taken one or two colleges as a basis on which 
to create great and grand schools, we have founded many, 
and the result has been that while we have a number 
which rank well, yet we have none which have become 
widely known. 

The proud position Illinois occupies, in an educational 
point of view, is due perhaps as much to the State Teach- 
ers' Association as to any other cause. It has really 
been the power behind the throne. Through its influence 
came the present school system, the State superintendency, 
the County superintendency, the Normal and the Industral 
University. The primary organization of the association 
took place at Bloomington on the '26th of December, 1853. 
The circular calling the meeting was signed by Alexander 
Starne, Secretary of State and ex-officio Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, the Presidents and Professors of 
Shurtlefif College, Wesley an University and Knox College. 
The Eev. W. Goodfellow was elected President ; Eev. H. 
Spaulding, ^Thomas Powell and C. C. Bonney, Vice Pres- 
idents, and Eev. D. Wilkins Secretary. Committees were 
appointed to petition the Legislature to create the office 
of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and for the 
passage of an act establishing Normal schools. The next 
meeting of the Association was held at Peoria, December 
26, 1854, — since which time the organization has been kept 
intact, and each year it has increased in numbers and in 
usefulness. 

In point of education, we hazard the opinion that Illinois 
is not behind other States. In the great array of men and 



APPENDIX. 469 

women who have been foremost in the school work, we 
feel free to select the following as having been intimately 
connected with our educational advancement : Newton Bate- 
man, W, H. Powell, C. E. Hovey, Bronson Murray, Simeon 
Wright, B. G. Roots, Prof. J. V. N. Standish, W. H. 
Wells, W. M. Beeker, Dr. Richard Edwards, Ninian W. 
Edwards, George Rowland. J. L. Pickard, E. C. Delano. 
Thomas Metcalf, H. L. Boltwood, E. L. Wells, E. A. Gast- 
man, Andrew M. Brooks, Flavel Mosely, John C. Dore, 
Miss Harriet N. Haskell, Miss Anna P. Sill, Mrs. Thomas 

A. Wood Shimer, Henry Raab, George Bunsen, Julian M. 
Sturtevant, James H. Blodgett, Dr. Samuel Willard, W. 

B. Powell, Prof. J. B. Turner, D. S. Wentworth, Samuel 
M. Etter, James P. Slade, S. W. Moulton, Dr. E. C. 
Hewett, Dr. Robert AUyn, and David A. Wallace. Messrs. 
N. W. Edwards, W. H. Powell, Bateman, John P. 
Brooks, Etter, Slade and Raab, have each been honored 
with the ofliee of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
while all of the others have been active workers and held 
many high trusts in our schools and colleges. 

Mr. Edwards was appointed Superintendent of Public 
Instruction by Governor Matteson in 1854, and held the 
office until January, 1857, when Mr. Powell became his 
successor through election by the people. Mr. Bateman 
was elected to the office five different times. 

As an auxiliary to the school work, a number of excel- 
lent school periodicals and journals have been established 
in the State, the first of which was the Illinois 'Teacher, 
published from 1855 to 1872. It was first established by 
the State Teachers' Association, but later was published 
as a private enterprise by N. C. Nason, of Peoria. It ex- 
ercised a marked influence in leading and shaping public 
opinion upon school questions. Among the journals in ex- 
istence now, we take pleasure in mentioning the Illinois School 



470 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS, 

Journal, published by John W. Cook, at Normal; Present 
Age, Practical Teacher, and the School Master, of Chicago. 
To review the history of the intellectual advancement of 
Illinois during the sixty-six years she has been one of the 
sovereign States of the National Union, is to conclude 
that, under wise direction and liberal and judicious legisla- 
tion, we shall continue to advance in literature, art, science 
and good government. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1832-34, 



The Eighth General Assembly convened December 3, 
1832, and adjourned March 2, 1833. Lieut. -Gov. Casey 
having resigned, Wm. L. D. Ewing was elected President 
pro tempore of the Senate, and Jesse B. Thomas, Jr., 
Secretary. Alex. M. Jenkins was elected Speaker of the 
House, and David Prickett Clerk. 

An able and influential member of this General Assem- 
bly was John T. Stuart, of Sangamon. Mr. Stuart was 
born in Kentucky, November 10, 1807 ; he graduated at 
Centerville College, Danville, and having studied law, 
settled in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln studied law under 
him. Mr. Stuart served three terms in Congress — 1839- 
41-43 and 1863-65— the first two with ex-President John 
Quincy Adams, from whom he learned the useful lesson, 
that it was "better to wear out than rust out." Though 
advanced in years, Mr. Stuart is yet hale and hearty. He 
is the oldest ex-member of Congress and practicing lawyer 
in the State, being the senior member of the well-known 
law firm of Stuart, Edwards & Brown. 

John Dement, of Franklin, was elected Treasurer in 
February, 1831. 



APPENDIX. 471 

Gov. Reynolds was elected to Congress in 1834, and 
resigned the office of Governor November 17, when acting 
Lieut.-Gov. Ewing became Governor. 

Gov. Reynolds was born in Montgomery county, Penn- 
sylvania, February 26, 1789, of Irish parents, who landed 
in Philadelphia in 1786; he belonged to a company of 
scouts in the campaigns against the Indians, in 1812 and 
1813 ; he was a lawyer by profession, and prior to his 
election as Governor, he was a Justice of the Supreme 
Court, and served one term in the Legislature ; he com- 
manded the Illinois volunteers during the Black Hawk 
war, 1832 ; he served in the Legislature from 1846 to 1848, 
and [from 1852 to 1854; the last term he was Speaker; 
he published a pioneer history of Illinois in 1848 ; "Glance 
at the Crystal Palace, and Sketches of Travel," in 1854; 
"My Life and Times," in 1855, and at one time he con- 
ducted the Belleville Eagle, a daily paper. He died at 
Belleville May 8, 1865, 

MOKMON WaK. 

Among our early intestine troubles was the Mormon 
war, led by Joseph Smith, who first organized the Mor- 
mon Society, at Fayette, New York, June 1, 1830. It 
then numbered but thirty members. In 1831, the whole 
church removed, temporarily, to Kirtland, Ohio, and sub- 
sequently located at Independence, Missouri. At that time 
the sect numbered nearly 2,000. Their assumptions of 
superiority, their intolerance of "gentiles," and their anti- 
slavery opinions, made them obnoxious to the people of 
Missouri. In 1838, the whole colony was violently ex- 
pelled from that State, and in 1839, the society, in a body, 
came to Illinois, settling in Hancock county, where they 
founded a city called Nauvoo. The colony now numbered 
some 15,000, and among the new accessions were Brigham 
Young, Orson Hyde, Herber C. Kimball, and Parley P. 
Pratt. As in Missouri, they soon became unpopular, and 



472 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

for a series of years there was an open state of warfare- 
existing between them and the "gentiles." Their leaders, 
were repeatedly arrested for violations of law. In June, 
1844, there was an uprising of the Mormons against the^ 
laws of the State, and Gov. Ford took the field in person, 
with a militia force, to keep the peace. Joseph Smith 
and Hiram, his brother, and two or three other leaders, 
were surrendered to the Governor, upon his pledge of the 
honor of the State that they should have a fair trial.. 
They were lodged in jail at Carthage, but during the, after- 
noon of June '27th, a mob of 200 disguised men assem- 
bled at the jail, overpowered the guard, and shot and killed- 
both of the Smiths. (See Ford's History.) 

At the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was 
elected President, and he hurried forward the building of 
the great temple, which had been begun by Smith, l^ut 
from that time forward there was a reign of terror in that 
section, and Nauvoo was fairly besieged. The temple was 
completed one day and demolished the next. The war 
was varied by arson and secret murder, on both sides. In 
January, 1846,* the "high council" announced that a final 
home was to be sought beyond the Rocky Mountains. 
The emigration commenced in the following month, but 
in September, the impatient people of the neighborhood 
poured in and drove out the little remnant with fiie and 
sword. They settled at Salt Lake, Utah, which was then 
a part of the possessions of Mexico, and since it became- 
a Territory of the United States, the Mormons have given 
the General Government quite as much trouble as they 
gave Illinois. 

State Goveknment — 1834-38. 

The fifth State government was inaugurated December 

3, 1834, with Joseph Duncan, of Morgan, as Governor;. 

Alex. M. Jenkins, of Jackson, Lieutenant-Governor ; Alex. 

P. Field, of Union, Secretary of State; James P. B. Stapp,. 



APPENDIX. 47S 

of Fayette, Auditor of Public Accounts ; John Dement, of 
Franklin, Treasurer; Ninian W. Edwards, of Sangamon, 
Attorney-General. 

The Ninth General Assembly convened December 1, 1834, 
and adjourned February 13, 1835. It convened again 
December 7, 1835, and adjourned January 18, 1836. Lieut. - 
Gov. Jenkins presided over the Senate, and Jjeonard 
White was elected Secretary. James Semple was elected 
Speaker of the House, and David Prickett Clerk. 

One of the eminent men of this General Assembly was 
Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville. He was the Democratic 
nominee for Governor in 1842, but died before the elec- 
tion, when Thomas Ford was nominated in his stead. He 
was buried at Belleville, and on his tombstone is in- 
scribed these words : "Ye men of genius, tread lightly o'er 
his grave : he was your kinsman." 

Thomas Mather was another member of this body who 
became widely known, and exercised a controlling intluence 
in the political aifairs of the State. 

Indian Wars. 

Like all the'jTerritories of the United States, Illinois had 
her trials with the Indians, of which there were many 
tribes, whose conflicts among themselves were more fre- 
quent than with the whites, which kept the Territorial, 
State and National authorities under arms for many years 
in order to subdue them. In 1827, we had what is called 
the Winnebago War. In June of that year we had an 
engagement with the Winnebagoes in the Galena country, 
in which their Chief, Bed Bird, was compelled to sur- 
render, which terminated the war. Bed Bird was kept in 
jail a long time, and we are told by Ford that he died in 
prison the victim of regret and sorrow for the loss of bis 
liberty. The Black Hawk War, which is minutely de- 
scribed by Ford, prevailed from the spring of 1831 to 

ugust 1832, and culminated in the battle of Bad Axe, on 



474 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

the Mississippi river, August '2, in which the Indians 
were utterly routed. Black Hawk and a number of his 
tribe were taken prisoners, and afterward conveyed to 
Washington, where they had an interview with President 
Jackson, whom Black Hawk addressed as follows : 

" I am a man and you are another. We did not expect 
to conquer the white people. I took up the hatchet to 
revenge injuries, which could no longer be borne. Had 1 
borne them longer, my people would have said. Black 
Hawk is a squaw, — he is too old to be a chief, — he is no 
Sac. This caused me to raise the war-whoop. I say no 
more of it All is known to you. Keokuk once was here ; 
you took him by the hand, and when he wanted to return 
you sent him back to his nation. Black Hawk expects 
that, like Keokuk, we will be permitted to return, too." 

From Washington they were taken to Fortress Monroe, 
where they remained prisoners until the 4th of June, 1833, 
when they were returned to their own country, by order 
of the President. Black Hawk lived until the 3d of Octo- 
ber, 1840, when he was gathered to his fathers at the age 
of eighty years, and was buried on the banks of the great 
river where he had spent most of his life. 

The Winnebago War terminated under the Adminis- 
tration of Gov. Edwards, and the Black Hawk under that 
of Gov. Eeynolds. 

After the battle of Bad Axe the several Indian tribes 
turned their faces toward the setting sun, and we have now 
no visible recollections of them save through the mounds they 
builded, the counties, rivers, towns and cities which bear their 
names, and "Starved Rock," a most wonderful memento, 
which is situated on the east side of the Illinois river, a 
mile distant from Utica, LaSalle county. It stands two 
hundred feet above the level of the river, and its surface 
is equal to a half acre of ground, and is heavily studded 
with timber. It is perpendicular on all sides, except the 
southeast, where a natural rock stairway leads to the 
cavern, high up in the rock, which is capable of holding 



APPENDIX. 475 

many persons. Peck's Gazetteer of Illinois, issued in 1834, 
has this to say of an incident connected with this famous 
rock, and from which it derived its name : 

" Tradition says that after the lUinois Indians had killed 
Pontiac, the French Governor, at Detroit, the northern 
Indians made war upon them. A band of the Illinois, in 
attempting to escape, took shelter on this rock, which 
they soon made inaccessible to their enemies, and wliere 
they were closely besieged. They had secured provisions, 
but their only resource for water was by letting down ves- 
sels with bark ropes to the river. The wily besiegers con- 
trived to come in canoes under the rock and cut ofif their 
buckets, by which means the unfortunate Illinois were 
starved to death. Many years after, their bones were 
whitening on this summit." 



Tenth General Assembly — 1836-38. 

The Tenth General Assembly convened December 15, 
1846, and adjourned March 6, 1837. It convened again 
July 10, 1837, and adjourned July 2'2, 1837. Lieut-Gov. 
Jenkins having resigned, William H. Davidson was elected 
President jJfo tempore of the Senate, and Jesse B. Thomas, 
Jr., Secretary. James Semple was elected Speaker of the 
House, and David Prickett Clerk. 

This was the General Assembly which put in operation 
the Internal Improvement system of 1837, of which we 
speak in detail in a subsequent chapter. In this body 
were many able, intellectual men. In the Senate, 0. H. 
Browning, Cyrus Edwards, William J. Gatewood and John 
Whiteside; and in the House, Edward D. Baker, John 
Dement, John Dougherty, Stephen A. Douglas, Jesse K. 
Dubois, Ninian W. Edwards, Wm. L. D. Ewing, Augustus 
C. French, John J. Hardin, Abraham Lincoln, U. F. Lin- 
der, John A. McClernand, William A. Kichardson, James 
Semple and James Shields, — all of whom afterward won 
distinction. 



476 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Wo have spoken elsewhere of most all these men, and 
will be excused if we digress to say a word of Col. Edward 
D. Baker, who was born in England, brought to this coun- 
try when a child, and was early left an orphan in Phila- 
delphia. His father was a weaver, and when a boy he 
worked at that business himself. He obtained an educa- 
tion under many difficulties ; first studied for the ministry, 
but soon turned his attention to the law, becoming famous 
as an advocate. He was serving in Congress when the 
Mexican war ensued, but resigned his seat and went to 
Mexico as a Colonel of volunteers, acquitting himself with 
credit at the battle of Cerro Gordo. On his return to 
Illinois he was re-elected to Congress from the Galena 
district. In 1852, he settled in San Francisco, devoting him- 
self to his profession ; he subsequently removed to Oregon, 
which State he represented as a Senator in Congress, taking 
his seat in March, 1861. At the outbreak of the EebelHon 
he raised a regiment, and while gallantly leading it in 
battle at Leesburg, Virginia, against a superior force, he 
was shot from his horse and killed, October 21, 1861. Col. 
Baker was a man of great intellectual ability, and in his 
day was not excelled as an orator. 

Governor Duncan was born in Kentucky in 1790 ; he vvas 
self-educated ; was an ensign at the brilliant defense of 
Fort Stephenson under Col. Croghan, for which he received 
from Congress the testimonial of a sword, February 13, 1835. 
He settled in Illinois, and was soon elected Major-General 
of Militia. Prior to his election as Governor, he was a 
Senator in the Legislature, and originated the law which 
established common schools in the State, and was a Rep- 
resentative in Congress from 1827 to 1835, resigning his 
seat to become Governor. He died at Jacksonville, Flor- 
ida, January 15, 1844. 

Jesse B. Thomas, Jr., became Attorney-General Feb- 
ruary 12, 1835; Walter B. Scates succeeded him January 



APPENDIX. 477 

18, 1836, and U. F. Linder succeeded Scates February 4, 
1837. Levi Davis became Auditor of Public Accounts 
November 16, 1835. Charles Gregory became Treasurer, 
December 5, 1836; he was succeeded by John D. White- 
side March 4, 1837. 

FiKST AND Only Duel in Illinois. 
In Ford's History we find this account of the first and 
only duel in Illinois : 

" The year 1820 was signalized by the first and last 
duel which was ever fought in Illinois. This took place 
in Belleville, ISt. Clair county, between Alphonso Stewart 
and William Bennett, two obscure men. The seconds had 
made it up to be a sham duel, to throw ridicule upon 
Bennett, the challenging party. Stew^art was in the secret, 
but Bennett, his adversary, was left to believe it a reality. 
They were to tight with rifles ; the guns were loaded with 
blank cartridges ; and Bennett, somewhat suspecting a 
trick, rolled a ball into his gun, without the knowledge of 
his seconds, or of the other party. The word to fire was 
given, and Stewart fell, mortally wounded. Bennett made 
his escape, but two years afterwards he was captured in 
Arkansas, brought back to the State, indicted, tried and 
convicted of murder. A great effort was made to procure 
him a pardon, but Gov. Bond would yield to no entreaties 
in his favor, and Bennett suffered the extreme penalty of 
the law, by hanging, in the presence of a great multitude 
of people. 

"This was the first and last duel ever fought in the 
State by any of its citizens. The hanging of Bennett 
made dueling discreditable and unpopular, and laid the 
foundation for that abhorrence of the practice which has 
ever since been felt and expressed by the people of Illi- 
nois." 

There were afterward some pretences at duels between 
some of the distinguished men of the State, notably that 
of 1842, between James Shields and Abraham Lincoln, 
which was caused by the publication of an article in a news- 
paper, the Sangamo Journal, reflecting on the official con- 
duct of Shields, while Auditor of State ; and between 
Shields and Wm. Butler, growing out of the same matter. 
But the framers of the constitution of 1848 put an 



478 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

end to the barbarous practice, in a summary manner, in 
the adoption of Section 25 of Article 13, which is in these 
words : 

"Any person who shall, after the adoption of this con- 
stitution, fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge for 
that purpose, or be aider or abettor in fighting a duel, 
shall be deprived of the right of holding any office of 
honor or profit in this State, and shall be punished other- 
wise, in such manner as is or may be prescribed by law." 

The framers of the constitution of 1870, doubtless be- 
lieving that the civilization of the age was against duel- 
ing, did not carry that provision into the new constitution, 
thus leaving public opinion to frown down the code. 

State Government — 1838-42. 

The sixth State government was inaugurated December 
7, 1838, with Thomas Carlin as Governor; Stinson H. 
Anderson, Lieutenant-Governor ; Alexander P. Field, Sec- 
retary of State ; Levi Davis, Auditor of Public Accourlts ; 
John D. Whiteside, Treasurer; George W. Olney, Attor- 
ney-General. 

The Eleventh General Assembly convened December 3, 
1838, and adjourned March 4, 1839. In 1839, the capital 
was removed to Springfield, and a second session convened 
there December 9, and adjourned February 3, 1840. 

Lieut. -Gov. Anderson presided over the Senate, and 
Benjamin Bond was elected Secretary. William L. D. 
Ewing was elected Speaker of the House, and David 
Prickett Clerk. 

There was quite a number of eminent men in this 
Legislature, among whom we mention Isaac P. Walker, 
who subsequently emigrated to Wisconsin, and was elected 
a United States Senator from that State in 1848. 



APPENDIX. 479 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
HOW A CHALLENGE WAS AVOIDED, 



This laughable, not to say serious, incident in the early 
life of Dr. Isaac Vandeventer, is related to us by one who 
was cognizant of the affair, and knew all of the parties 
mentioned. When W. A. Kichardson was elected to 
the State Senate in 1838, his opponent was Dr. Isaac 
Vandeventer, a Whig, and one of the purest men in the 
State, but wholly ignorant of party usages or practices. 
He had been selected by the Whigs as the man most 
likely to defeat Kichardson, for the District was largely 
Democratic, and T. Lyle Dickey, now of the Supreme 
bench, and James W. Singleton, since a member of Con- 
gress, then both young men, undertook the management 
of his campaign. When the returns came in, it was found 
that Kichardson had beaten him only four or five votes ; 
and investigation showed that, on Sugar Creek, seven or 
eight illegal votes had been cast for him, some of which 
were polled by men having in their veins African blood. 
Dickey and Singleton resided at Kushville, and they sent 
for Vandeventer to come and see them, with the view of 
instituting proceedings to contest the election. Contesting 
was regarded as unpopular, and to throw the burden on 
Richardson, they induced Vandeventer to send him a letter, 
setting forth the fact that he claimed to be the Senator 
elect, and to save expense and trouble, to request Rich- 
ardson to resign his certificate and run the race over 
at a special election, — to which Richardson replied, in 



480 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

substance, that he was fairly elected, but had no objections 
to running the race over, provided he could be assured 
that the Doctor would "stay beat," and if he would give 
bond, with approved security, to that efifect, he would 
consent to make the race over. 

Dickey and Singleton were indignant, and insisted that 
it was a personal insult, that could only " be wiped out 
in blood," and urged Vandeventer to challenge Eichard- 
son, and consenting to do so, they undertook the prepar- 
ation of the letter inviting the hostile meeting. Vande- 
venter went to his hotel for dinner and was to return to 
Dickey's office at 1 o'clock that day and sign the chal- 
lenge, and then one of them was to bear it to Eichard- 
son, but 1 o'clock came, 2, and then 3, and Vandeventer 
came not ; and on inquiry it was ascertained that he had 
paid his bill and left for home. Thus ended the duel and 
the contest, for Dr. Vandeventer was never again seen in 
Mr. Dickey's office. 

Twelfth General Assembly — 1840-42. 

The Twelfth General Assembly convened November 23, 
1840, and adjourned December 5. It convened again De- 
cember 7, and adjourned March 1, 1841. 

Lieut. -Gov. Anderson presided over the Senate, and 
Merritt L. Covell was elected Secretary. William L. D. 
Ewing was elected Speaker of the House, and John Cal- 
houn Clerk. 

Wickliffe Kitchell became Attorney-General, March 5, 
1839; Stephen A. Douglas, Secretary of State, November 
30, 1840; James Shields, Auditor of Public Accounts, 
March 4, 1841, and Milton Carpenter, Treasurer, March 
6, 1841. 

Josiah Lamborn, of Morgan, became Attorney-General, 
December 3, 1840. 

Gov. Carlin was born in Kentucky, July 18, 1789; he 
was self-educated ; removed to Illinois in 1812 ; his first 



APPENDIX. 481 

office was Sheriff of Greene county; in 1834, President 
Jackson appointed him Eeceiver of Public Moneys. He 
was Governor at the time Illinois became overwhelmingly 
involved in debt through the internal improvement sys- 
tem, and he used his best ability in piloting the ship of 
State through the financial storm. After his term as 
Governor he removed to Carrollton, and in 1849, was 
elected Representative to the Legislature, vice J. D. Fry, 
resigned. He died February 14, 1852. 

Chicago. 

No city in the world has had so prosperous or marvel- 
ous a growth as Chicago, and a history of Illinois would 
not be complete without a special reference to this great and 
grand metropolis. The Gazetteer of 1823 describes Chicago 
as "a village in Pike county, situated on Lake Michigan, 
near Chicago creek, containing twelve or fifteen houses 
and about sixty or seventy inhabitants." 

Chicago was first laid out as a town in the autumn of 
1829. The first map made of the place was drawn by 
James Thompson, and bears date of August 4, 1830. 
Cook county, of which Chicago is the county seat, was 
not organized until January 15, 1831. The first steamer 
to enter the port was in 1832. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
a passenger, en route to take part in the conference of 
the army, which related to the treaty of peace with Black 
Hawk, who had been utterly routed at the battle of Bad 
Axe. The year 1833 was signalized by the establishment 
of a postoffice and weekly mail ; the same year a town 
government was organized, and a weekly newspaper, en- 
titled the Chicago Democrat, was founded by John Calhoun. 
In 1836, the then great enterprise of the western world, the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal, was inaugurated. In 1837, the 
Legislature passed an act incorporating the City of Chicago, 
(see House and Senate Journals of 1837), and in the 
—31 



482 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

May following the city was organized under that charter, 
and William B. Ogden was elected mayor. The popula- 
tion of the city was then but 4,179. The records of the 
office of the Secretary of State show that Chicago has 
been listed as one of the towns of the State in eight dif- 
ferent counties : first as being in St. Clair ; then Madison ; 
then Edwards ; then Crawford ; then Clark ; then Pike ; 
then attached to Fulton temporarily ; then Putnam ; then 
it occupied a place in what is known as unorganized ter- 
ritory, and then the county of Cook was organized. 

The first railroad built to Chicago was the Galena and 
Chicago Union, the first ten miles of which was con- 
structed in 1847. Now that road forms a part of the 
Chicago and Northwestern Eailway, whose main lines and 
branches number 3,584 miles of magnificent railway, 
reaching far out into the broad domain of the great West. 

When the great fire of October, 1871, laid the city in 
ashes, it had acquired a population of 334,270. Within 
twelve months after, the city was rebuilt upon a grander 
scale than before- The United States census of 1880 
gave the city a population of 503,000; and from a single 
railroad in 1847, they have multiplied to twenty-one, 
which aggregate, in miles, 21,394, and radiate to all 
points of the compass. 

New York and Boston have, respectively, according to 
the United States census of 1880, populations of 1,200,000 
and 350,000. In these cities one sees the growth of over 
two hundred years, or ten generations, and the relics of 
colonial times, while in Chicago is seen the growth of less 
than fifty years, and a population, as shown by the same 
census, of 503,000. 

From that single weekly newspaper the press has mag- 
nified indefinitely, and in character, power and circulation 
is not surpassed, if equaled, by that of any city in the 
world. 



appendix. 483 

State Goveknment — 1842-46. 

The seventh State government was inaugurated Decem- 
ber 8, 1842, with Thomas Ford, of Ogle, as Governor; 
John Moore, of McLean, Lieutenant-Governor; Lyman 
Trumbull, of St. Clair, Secretary of State ; James Shields, 
of Randolph, Auditor of Public Accounts ; Milton Carpen- 
ter, of Hamilton, Treasurer; Josiah Lambom, Attorney- 
General. 

The Thirteenth General Assembly convened December 
5, 1842, and adjourned March 6, 1843. Lieut.-Gov. Moore 
presided over the Senate, and Isaac S. Berry was elected 
Secretary. Samuel Hackelton was elected Speaker of the 
House, and Wm. L. D. Ewing Clerk. 

There were many strong men, intellectually, in this 
body. The names which will sound familiar to the reader 
are Orlando B. Ficklin, of Coles ; Gustavus Koerner, of 
St. Clair ; Stephen T. Logan, of Sangamon ; John A. Mc- 
Clernand, of Gallatin, now of Sangamon ; and ex-Lieut.- 
Gov. Pierre Menard, of Tazewell, all of whom attained 
prominence, and have often been honored with various 
public trusts. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
MURDER OF ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 



Establishment of his Preps in St. Louis— Its Removal to Alton— Its Destruc- 
tion by a Mob— Re-establishment of the Paper— An Attempt to Tar and 
Ft-ather Lovejoy— Meeting of the Citizens of Alton to Compel him to 
Abandon the Publication of his Paper— A Brave Speech in Self-De- 
fense— Murder of Lovejoy and Destruction of His Fourth and Last 
Press— His Funeral. 



In all her history, Illinois has never been famed for 
deeds of cruelty and wrong; but one of the most terrible 



484 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

crimes, which stands as a living disgrace in the history 
of Illinois, is the heartless murder of Eev. Elijah P. 
Lovejoy, brother of the late Owen Lovejoy, by a pro- 
slavery mob at Alton, on the night of November 7, 1837. 
The event is worthy of more than a passing mention. 
Mr. Lovejoy was the editor of the Alton Observer, a reli- 
gious paper, which had been originally started in St. Louis 
in 1833, under the auspices of the Presbyterian 
Church, which he conducted for nearly three years ; 
but in June, 1836, the owners, fearing that the 
press would be destroyed by mob violence, deter- 
mined to remove it to Alton, and it had hardly been 
packed for shipment before a lawless body of men entered 
the premises and carried away a portion of the press and 
type and threw them into the Mississippi river. The rem- 
nant was shipped to Alton, arriving there on Sunday ; but 
the mob spirit of St. Louis had preceded Mr. Lovejoy, and 
that night a mob collected and threw what was left of the 
printing office and Mr. Lovejoy's household furniture 
into the river. Next day, however, the better class of 
citizens assembled in a public meeting, denounced the 
action of the mob in the strongest terms, and subscribed 
money sufficient to buy another printing office and reim- 
burse Mr. Lovejoy in his personal losses; and on the 8th 
of September the first number of the Alton Observer made 
its appearance; but in Alton Mr. Lovejoy's life and 
property were as much at the mercy of the whims of the 
pro-slavery outlaws as they had been in St. Louis, and 
he was never free from personal insult or assault ; he was 
pursued by day and by night, at home and abroad ; four 
times was his press destroyed, and in defending the last he 
fell a martyr to the cause of free speech and free press. 
It is generally understood that Mr. Lovejoy was an ex- 
treme abolitionist, but a careful reading of the utter- 
ances of his paper, as reproduced in his Life, written by 



APPENDIX, 485 

his brother Owen warrants us in saying, that he was sim- 
ply an emancipationist. 

In Tanner's Martyrdom of Lovejoy, we find the follow- 
ing incident, illustrative of the moral courage of Mr. Love- 
joy: 

"On one occasion, some eight or ten citizens of Alton 
determined to tar and feather him and then send him 
adrift in a canoe down the Mississippi river. He lived at 
Hanterstown about three-quarters of a mile from Alton, 
and between ten and eleven o'clock at night, while on his 
way to a drug store in Alton to procure some medicine 
for his wife, he was met by these men, all disguised, 
who stopped him and at once disclosed to him their pur- 
pose. With the most perfect composure he replied : 'Gen- 
tlemen, I have but a single request to make of you ; my 
wife is dangerously ill, and it is necessary that she should 
have this prescription, which I was on the way to town 
to procure. Will one of you take it and see that it is 
delivered at the house, but without intimating what is 
about to befall me? I am in the hands of God, and am 
ready to go with you.' For a few moments entire silence 
reigned, which was broken by a physician, who made up 
in part the disguised party, exclaiming : ' Boys, I cannot 
lay my hands on as brave a man as this,' and, turning 
away, was followed by his accomplices, and Mr. Lovejoy 
was spared the degradation of being tarred and feathered." 

It would seem that Mr. Lovejoy had resigned himself to 
fate and was ready for the worst ; but he did not have 
long to wait for the culmination of the outrages which had 
followed his pathway for so many years. On the 2d of 
November, a public meeting of the citizens of Alton was 
held to take action in regard to the further publication 
of the Observer under his editorship, and after the appoint- 
ment of a committee to prepare resolutions expressive of 
the sense of the people of the community, adjourned 
until the 3d. On the reassembling of the meeting, the 
committee, through its chairman, Cyrus Edwards, then a 
Whig State Senator, reported the resolutions, the purport 
of which was that j\[r. Lovejoy should abandon the pub- 
lication of the Ohsercer. U. F. Linder, a member of the 



486 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

committee, and then the Attorney-General of the State, 
supported the passage of the resolutions in a speech of 
much earnestness; and as Mr. Lovejoy was present, he 
was permitted to reply in his own behalf. We copy his 
remarks in full, as we find them printed in a little volume 
published in 1838, by Kev. Edward Beecher, brother of 
Henry Ward Beecher: 

"I feel, Mr. Chairman, that this is the most solemn 
moment of my life. I feel, I trust, in some measure, the 
responsibilities which, at this hour, I sustain to these, 
my fellow citizens, to the church of which I am a min- 
ister, to my country, and to God. And let me beg of you, 
before I proceed further, to construe nothing I shall say 
as being disrespectful to this assembly. I have no such 
feeling; far from it. And if I do not act or speak accord- 
ing to their wishes at all times, it is because I can not con- 
scientiously do it. 

" It is proper I should state the whole matter, as I under- 
stand it, before this audience. I do not stand here to 
argue the question, as presented by the report of the com- 
mittee. My whole wonder is that the honorable gentleman 
(Hon. Cyrus Edwards, Senator from Madison county, and 
the Whig candidate for Governor), the chairman of that 
committee, for whose character I entertain great respect, 
though I have not the pleasure of his personal acquaint- 
ance, my only wonder is how that gentleman could have 
brought himself to submit such a report. 

" Mr. Chairaian, I do not admit that it is the business 
of this assembly to decide whether I shall or shall not 
publish a newspaper in this city. The gentlemen have, 
as the lawyers say, made a wrong issue. I have the right 
to do it. I know that I have the right freely to speak 
and publish my sentiments, subject only to the laws of 
the land for the abuse of that right. This right was given 
me by my Maker ; and is solemnly guaranteed to me by 
the Constitution of these United States and of this State. 
What I wish to know of you is, whether you will protect 
me in the exercise of this right ; or whether, as heretofore, 
I am to be subjected to personal indignity and outrage. 
These resolutions, and the measures proposed by them, 
are spoken of as a compromise — a compromise between 
two parties. Mr. Chairman, this is not so. There is but 
one party here. It is simply a question whether the law 
shall be enforced, or whether the mob shall be allowed, 



APPENDIX. 487 

as they do now, to continue to trample it under their feet, 
by violating with impunity the rights of an innocent in- 
dividual. 

"Mr. Chairman, what have I to compromise? If freely 
to forgive those who have so greatly injured me, if to pray 
for thfiir temporal and eternal happiness, if still to wish 
for the prosperity of your city and State, notwithstanding 
all the indignities I have suffered in it ; if this be the com- 
promise intended, then do I willingly make it. My rights 
have been shamefully, wickedly outraged ; this 1 know, 
and feel, and can never forget. But I can and do freely 
forgive those who have done it. 

" But if by a compromise is meant that I should cease 
from doing that which duty requires of me, I cannot make 
it. And the reason is, that I fear God more than I fear 
man. Think not that I would lightly go contrary to pub- 
lic sentiment around me. The good opinion of my fellow- 
men is dear to me, and I would sacrifice anything but 
principle to obtain their good wishes ; but when they ask 
me to surrender this, they ask for more than I can — than 
I dare give. Reference is made to the fact that I offered 
a few days since to give up the editorship of the 'Observer' 
into other hands. This is true. I did so, because it was 
thought or said by some that perhaps the paper would be 
better patronized in other hands. They declined accept- 
ing my offer, however, and since then we have heard from 
the friends and supporters of the paper in all parts of the 
State. There was but one sentiment among them, and 
this was that the paper could be sustained in no other 
hands than mine. It is also a very different question, 
whether I shall voluntarily, or at the request of friends, 
yield up my post ; or whether I shall forsake it at the de- 
mand of a mob. The former I am at all times ready to 
do, when circumstances occur to require it, as I will never 
put my personal wishes or interests in competition with 
the cause of that Master whose minister I am. But the 
latter, be assured, I never will do. God, in his providence 
— so say all my brethren, and so I think, — has devolved 
upon me the responsibility of maintaining my ground here ; 
and, Mr. Chairman, I am determined to do it. A voice 
comes to me from Maine, from Massachusetts, from Con- 
necticut, from New York, from Pennsylvania ; yea, from 
Kentucky, from Mississippi, from Missouri, calling upon 
me in the name of all that is dear in heaven or earth, 
to stand fast ; and by the help of God, I will stand. I 



488 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

know I am but one, and you are many. My strength 
would avail but little against you all. You can crush me 
if you will ; but I shall die at my post, for I can not, and 
will not, forsake it. 

" Why should I flee from Alton ? Is not this a free 
State? When assailed by a mob at St. Louis, I came 
hither, as to the home of freedom and of the law. The 
mob has pursued me here, and why should I retreat again? 
Where can I be safe, if not here ? Have I not a right to 
claim the protection of the law ? What more can I have 
in any other place? Sir, the very act of retreating will 
embolden the mob to follow me wherever I go. No, sir; 
there is no way to escape the mob, but to abandon the 
path of duty ; and that, God helping me, I will never do. 

" It has been said here, that my hand is against every 
man, and every man's hand is against me. The last part 
of the declaration is too painfully true. I do indeed find 
almost every hand lifted against me ; but against whom in 
this place has my hand been raised? I appeal to every 
individual present; whom of you have I injured? Whose 
character have I traduced ? Whose family have I molested ? 
Whose business have I meddled with? If any, let him 
rise here and testify against me. No one answers. 

"And do not your resolutions say that you Ihid nothing 
against my private or personal character? And does any 
one believe that if there was anything to be found, it would 
not be found and brought forth ? If, in anything, I have 
offended against the law, I am not so popular in this 
community as that it would be difficult to convict me. 
You have courts, and judges, and juries; they find 
nothing against me. And now you come together 
for the purpose of driving out a confessedly innocent 
man, for no cause but that he dares to think and speak 
as his conscience and his God dictates. W^ill conduct like 
this stand the scrutiny of your country? of posterity? 
above all, of the judgment-day ? For, remember, the 
Judge of that day is no respecter of persons. Pause, I 
beseech you, and reflect. The present excitement will soon 
be over; the voice of conscience will at last be heard. 
And at some season of honest thought, even in this world, 
as you review the scenes of this hour, you will be com- 
pelled to say, ' He was right ; he was right.' 

" But you have been exhorted to be lenient and compas- 
sionate ; and in driving me away to affix no unnecessary 
disgrace upon me. Sir, I reject all such compassion. You. 
can not disgrace me. Scandal and falsehood and calumny 



APPENDIX. 489 

have already done their worst. My shoulders have borne 
the burthen till it sits easy upon them. You may hang 
me up, as the mob hung up the individuals of Vicksburg ! 
You may burn me at the stake, as they did Mcintosh at 
St. Louis ; or, you may tar and feather me, or throw me 
into the Mississippi, as you have often threatened to do, 
but you can not disgrace me. I, and I alone, can dis- 
grace myself; and the deepest of all disgrace would be, at 
a time like this, to deny my Master by forsaking his cause. 
He died for me ; and 1 were most unworthy to bear his 
name, should I refuse, if need be, to die for him. 

" Again, you have been told that I have a family, who 
are dependent on me ; and this has been given as a reason 
why I should be driven off as gently as possible. It is 
true, Mr. Chairman, I am a husband and a father; and 
this it is that adds the bitterest ingredient to the 
cup of sorrow I am called to drink. I am made to 
feel the wisdom of the apostle's advice : ' It is better 
not to marry. ' I know, sir, that in this contest 
I stake not my life only, but that of others also. 
I do not expect my wife will ever recover from the shock 
received at the awful scenes, through which she was called 
to pass, at St. Charles. And how was it the other night, 
on my return to my house? I found her driven to the 
garret, through fear of the mob, who were prowling round 
my house. And scarcely had I entered the house ere my 
windows were broken in by the brickbats of the mob ; and 
she so alarmed, that it was impossible for her to sleep or 
rest that night. I am hunted as a partridge upon the 
mountains ; I am pursued as a felon through your streets ; 
and to the guardian power of the law I look in vain for 
that protection against violence, which even the vilest 
criminal makes claim. 

"Yet, think not that 1 am unhappy. Think not that I 
regret the choice that I have made. While all around me 
is violence and tumult, all is peace within. An approving 
conscience, and the rewarding smile of God, is a full 
recompense for all that I forego and all that I endure. 
Yes, sir, I enjoy a peace which nothing can destroy. I 
sleep sweetly and undisturbed, except when awakened by 
the brickbats of the mob. 

" No, sir, I am not unhappy. I have counted the cost, 
and stand prepared freely to offer up my all in the 
service of God. Yes, sir, I am fully aware of all the sac- 
rifice I make, in here pledging myself to continue this 
contest to the last. ( Forgive these tears, — I had not 



490 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

intended to shed them, and they flow not for myself, but 
others.) But I am commanded to forsake father and 
naother, and wife and children, for Jesus' sake ; and as 
his professed disciple I stand prepared to do it. The time 
for fulfilling this pledge in my case, it seems to me, has 
come. Sir, I dare not flee away from Alton. Should I 
attempt it, I should feel that the angel of the Lord, with 
his flaming sword, was pursuing me wherever I went. It 
is because I fear God that I am not afraid of all who 
oppose me in this city. No, sir, the contest has com- 
menced here ; and here it must be finished. Before God 
and you all, I here pledge myself to continue it, if need 
be, till death. If I fall, my grave shall be made in Alton." 

The speech of Mr. Lovejoy, powerful as it was, failed 
to allay the madness of the hour; and he was followed 
in reply by Rev. John Hogan, a Methodist minister, who 
afterwards figured, to some extent, in the politics of St. 
Louis, in a speech of much bitterness, and when he con- 
cluded, resolutions 1, 2 and 4 were unanimously adopted, 
while 3, 5 and 6, those which counseled peace and order, 
were rejected, and, four days after, Lovejoy lost his life 
at the hands of the mob. 

We give place to an account of the affair by Mr. Tanner, 
who was in the warehouse at the time as one of the de- 
fenders of the property : 

' ' We have now arrived at the fatal night of the 7th of 
November, 1837, and I give the details of the occurrence 
from personal notes of my own. The fourth press had been 
shipped to Alton from Cincinnati, and had been received 
in the dead of the night on the 6th by the friends of Mr. 
Lovejoy, in presence of the mayor, and taken to its final 
destination. We were fully prepared to receive and de- 
fend it, having, in the building, about sixty men, well 
armed and drilled, stationed on different floors in squads 
or companies of sufficient strength to do full execution if 
the mob should attempt to take the press when landed 
from the boat. 

" All was quiet in the city, and we considered the press 
safe from harm, as it lay on storage with the most re- 
sponsible and most respected firm in the city. As night 
approached, we gathered in the building to talk over the 



APPENDIX. 491 

sitnation, and congratulated each other on peace. About 
nine o'clock the company of men began to disperse to 
their homes, when Mr. Oilman asked if some few of the 
number would not volunteer to remain through the night 
with him, for he intended staying, as a precaution in case 
the warehouse was attacked. Nineteen men answered the 
call, and the devoted little band prepared themselves for 
whatever might occur. An hour elapsed before any signs 
of disturbance were noticed, but then it was evident that a 
mob was gathering. Messrs. Keating and West asked per- 
mission to enter into the warehouse to confer "iWith Mr. Gil- 
man, and being admitted, informed us that unless the 
press was given up the building would be burned over 
our heads. We had, early in the evening, selected for our 
captain, Enoch Long, who had seen some service, think- 
ing occasion might require concerted action on our part. 
His method of defense was much milder than some of us 
advocated, for we considered it best to fire on the mob and 
make short work of it ; but he commanded that no one should 
shoot without his order, an order which, from mistaken 
motives of mercy, he hesitated to give until it was too 
late to intimidate the besiegers. 

"The crowd gathered and attempted to force an en- 
trance, but were temporarily checked in consequence of 
the order of our captain to one of his men to tire upon 
them in return for their shot, which had entered the 
building. Our shot proved fatal, killing one of the mob, 
whose name was Bishop. The lull was short ; the mob 
returned, reinforced by ruffians who had been drinking, 
and with savage yells they shouted that they would 'fire 
the building and shoot every d — d Abolitionist as he tried 
to make his escape !' No orders were given us for con- 
centrated fire at any time ; it was all hap-hazard, and 
every man did as he thought best. At this juncture, the 
mayor appeared, and we asked him to lead us out to 
face the mob, and, if they would not disperse upon his 
command, that he should order us to tire upon them. 
His answer was, that he had too much regard for our 
lives to do that, but at the same time he most distinctly 
justified us in our defense. He attempted, afterward, to 
disperse them himself, but his power was gone — they 
merely laughed at his authority, as his weak and nerve- 
less treatment of them on former occasions had destroyed 
all his influence as a magistrate. 

"Attempts were now made to fire the building, and 
against one side, in which there were no openmgs, a 



492 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

ladder was placed to reach the roof, on which a man 
ascended with a burning torch. Captain Long called for 
volunteers to make a sortie, in order to prevent the 
accomplishment of their purpose, and Amos B. Rofif, 
Eoyal Weller, and Elijah P. Lovejoy promptly stepped 
forth to execute his order. As they emerged from the 
buikhng, shots were fired from behind a shelter, and five 
balls were lodged in the body of Mr. Lovejoy, others 
wounding Mr. Koff and Mr. Weller. Mr. Lovejoy had 
strength enough to run back and up the stairs, crying 
out as he went, 'I am shot! I am shot! I am dead I* 
When he reached the counting-room, he fell back into the 
arms of a bystander, and was laid upon the floor, where 
he instantly passed away without a struggle, and without 
speaking again. 

" Soon Messrs. Keating and West again approached the 
building, and informed Mr. Gilman that the roof was on 
fire, but that 'the boys' would put it out if the press 
should be given up — that was what they wanted— and 
nothing should be destroyed or any one harmed if the 
surrender was made. Mr. Grilman, consulting with us all, 
said that there was property of great value on storage, 
and the interest of firms all over the State were repre- 
sented, that he felt great responsibility, as Mr. Godfrey, 
his partner, was absent. To save these interests, he 
thought the building had better be abandoned and the 
press given up. Others coinciding in the opinion, it was 
decided to surrender the press, on condition that the mob 
would not enter the warehouse until we had left, and fur- 
ther, that our departure should be without molestation. 
These terms being accepted, we secreted our arms, and 
left the building together, but we were hardly out before 
the rioters broke their truce and more than a hundred 
bullets passed harmlessly over our heads. The fire in the 
warehouse was extinguished, and the press was taken 
out and destroyed. 

" The next morning we returned to where the dead body 
of Lovejoy lay, and removed it to his late home. 

" His wife was absent at the house of a friend, so pros- 
trated by the shock of these terrible events that her life 
was despaired of for many days. Owen Lovejoy received 
the corpse of his brother at the house, and preparations 
for the funeral, to take place the following day, were then 
made. 

" It was a rainy, depressing day, and I well remember 
now how Abram Breath, still a resident of Alton, and 



APPENDIX. 493 

myself walked together, through mud and water, to the 
grave. The burial service was simple, consisting merely 
of prayers, by Mr. Lovejoy's constant friend, the Rev. 
Thomas Lippincott ; no remarks being made, lest the mob 
should disturb the last sacred rites of our beloved friend. 
There had been no inquest over his body, no flowers were 
strewn over his coffin. Mob-law not only reigned, but was 
insultingly triumphant. 

"it was thought that the silence of death, under such 
circumstances, well became the burial of Liberty." 

At the time this murder was perpetrated, Henry Clay 
was a United States Senator from Kentucky, and he 
boldly advocated gradual emancipation, in Congress, with 
the same freedom that he would have supported an appro- 
priation bill, and went forth in the discharge of his daily 
duties without the fear of molestation by anybody. Yet 
in Illinois Elijah P. Lovejoy could not write or print his 
views upon the same subject without having his property 
destroyed, being himself personally abused and at last 
murdered by an infuriated mob. 

But the crowning act of this heartless outrage was the 
utter neglect of the courts to take cognizance of the mur- 
der of Lovejoy. 

John Carroll Power, custodian of the National Lincoln 
Monument, who visited the burial place of Lovejoy in 
1870, writes that his grave was left unmarked by a stone 
until 1864, when Thomas Dimmick, a citizen of Alton, 
visited Boston, and procured a neat granite pedestal 25x 
80 inches and 15 inches high, with a white marble slab 
17x26 inches, which bears this simple inscription : 

hic jacit 

lovejoy; 

/ am parce Sepulto. 



494 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 



CHAPTER XX. 

FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLy-1844-46. 



The Fourteenth General Assembly convened December 
2, 1844, and adjourned March 3, 1845. 

Lieut. -Gov. Moore presided over the Senate, and Mer- 
ritt L. Covell was elected Secretary. "William A. Richard- 
son was elected Speaker of the House, and Newton Cloud 
Clerk. 

James A. McDougall, of Morgan county, became Attor- 
ney-General, January 12, 1843 ; Thompson Campbell, Sec- 
retary of State, March 4, 1843; William L. D. Ewing, 
Auditor of Public Accounts, March 26, 1843. 

Mr. McDougall was born in New York; he removed to 
Pike county, Illinois, in 1837 ; in 1849, he originated and 
accompanied an exploring expedition to Rio del Norte, 
the Gila and Colorado ; he afterward emigrated to Cali- 
fornia, and followed his profession at San Francisco ; in 
1850, he was elected Attorney-General of California ; was 
a Representative in Congress from that State from 1853 
to 1855, and in 1861 he was elected United States Sena- 
tor ; he was a delegate to the Chicago Convention in 1864. 
He died at Albany, New York, September 3, 1867. 

The administration of ,Gov. Ford was a very arduous 
and embarrassing one. Besides the financial embarrass- 
ments of the State, he had the Mormon war upon his 
hands ; but he successfully subdued the Mormons, and by 
his wise counsel greatly assisted the General Assembly in 
passing laws which gave the State and the people partial 
relief from their indebtedness. 



APPENDIX. 495 

Gov. Ford was bom in Pennsylvania. In 1804, while a 
child, his parents emigrated to Illinois. When he attained 
manhood's estate, and prior to his election as Governor, 
he was a Justice of the Supreme bench, which position he 
resigned to become Governor. He wrote a history of Illi- 
nois from 1818 to 1847, which was printed by his friend. 
Gen. James Shields, after Gov. Ford's death, which 
occurred at Peoria, November 2, 1850. 

Mexican War. 

In the war between the United States and Mexico, which 
Congress declared on the 11th of May, 184G, and which 
prevailed two years, Illinois bore an honorable and con- 
spicuous part. Six regiments of volunteer soldiers was her 
contribution in that sanguinary struggle. In a volume re- 
cently prepared by Adj. -Gen. Isaac H. Elliott, by author- 
ity of the General Assembly, we find the familiar names 
of Colonel John J. Hardin, who fell while gallantly lead- 
ing the first regiment in a charge at the battle of Buena 
Vista, February 23, 1847; Major William A. Eichardson, 
Lieutenant- Colonel B. M. Prentiss, First Lieutenant 
Isham N. Haynie, Second Lieutenant John A. Logan, 
Lieutenant-Colonel James L. D. Morrison, Colonel Ste- 
phen G. Hicks, Major S. D. Marshall, Captain M. K. 
Lawler, Second Lieutenant Green B. Field, Colonel Edward 
D. Baker, Second Lieutenant William B. Fondey, Ser- 
geant Dudley Wickersham, First Lieutenant Eichard J. 
Oglesby, Captain L. W. Eoss, Sergeant Eobert M. Pee- 
ples. Second Lieutenant John G. Eidgway, Colonel Wm. 
H. Bissell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. B. Warren. The re- 
ports of that campaign, printed in the volume referred to, 
show that, in their official reports. Generals Taylor, Wool, 
Scott, Twiggs and Patterson each warmly commended the gal- 
lantry of Illinois soldiers ; and Gen. Taylor complimented 
personally the services of Colonel Bissell, Lieutenant-Colonel 



496 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Morrison, Lieutenant-Colonel William B. Warren, Colonel 
William Weatherford, Major X. F. Frail, Adjutant A. C 
Whiteside, and Major Noah Fry, for gallant conduct at the 
battle of Buena Vista. 

Most, if not all, of these men subsequently became dis- 
tinguished in civil or military life, but death has claimed 
all of them except Prentiss, Logan, Morrison, Wickersham, 
Oglesby and Boss. 

State Government — 1846-49. 

The eighth State Government was inaugurated De- 
cember 9, 1846, with Augustus C. French, of Crawford, 
as Governor; Joseph B. Wells, of Rock Island, Lieu- 
tenant Governor; Horace S. Cooley, of Adams, Secretary 
of State ; Thomas H. Campbell, of Randolph, Auditor of 
Public Accounts ; Milton Carpenter, of Hamilton, Treas- 
urer ; David B. Campbell, of Sangamon, Attorney-General. 

The Fifteenth General Assembly convened December 7, 
1846, and adjourned March 1, 1847. 

Lieutenant-Governor Wells presided over the Senate, 
and Henry W. Moore was elected Secretary. Newton 
Cloud was elected Speaker of the House, and John Mc- 
Donald Clerk. 

CONSTITUTIONAFi CONVENTION OF 1847. 

The Convention which framed the Constitution of 1848 
convened at Springfield, June 7, 1847. Zadok Casey was 
elected President pro tempore ; Newton Cloud President, 
and Henry W. Moore Secretary. There were one hun- 
dred and sixty-two delegates, whose names are given below : 

William Laughlin, Wm. B. Powers, Jacob M. Nichols, 
Archibald Williams, Martin Atherton, Michael G. Dale, 
Daniel H. Whitney, James W. Singleton, James Brock- 
man, Alexander McHatton, Simon Kinney, Wm. Bosby- 
shell, Garner Moffett, Henry E. Dummer, Thompson R. 
Webber, D. D. Shumway, Wm. Tutt, Justin Harlan, Uri 
Manly, Peter Green, Benjamin Bond, Thomas A. Marshall, 



APPENDIX. 497 

Thomas B. Trower, Patrick Ballingall, Francis C. Sher- 
man, Eeuben B. Heacock, E. F. Colby, David L. Gregg, 
Nelson Hawley, Wm. H. Blakely, George H. Hill, George 
B. Lemen, Jeduthun Hatch, Samuel Anderson, Wm. Shields, 
George W. Rives, Alvin R. Kenner, John W. F. Edmonson, 
Joseph T. Eccles. George W. Akin, David Markley, Heze- 
kiah M. Wead, Isaac Linley, George Kreider, Albert G. 
Caldwell, Jacob Smith, Franklin Witt, L. E. Worcester, 
D. M. Woodson, George W. Armstrong, James M. Lasater, 
Thomas C. Sharpe, William S. Moore, Charles Choate, 
Robert Miller, Thomas Geddes, Andrew McCallen, Gilbert 
Turnbull, Joshua Harper, Lewis J. Simpson, Jesse 0. 
ISforton, Alexander M. Jenkins, Richard G. Morris, Frank- 
lin S. Casey, Zadok Casey, Walter B. Scates, A. R. 
Knapp, Thompson Campbell, W. B. Green, 0. C. Pratt, 
John Oliver, Alfred Churchill, Augustus Adams, Thomas 
Judd, John West Mason, Curtis K. Harvey, James Knox, 
Horace Butler, Hurlbut Swan, Wm. Stadden, Abraham 
Hoes, John Mieure, John Dement, Samuel Lander, James 
Tuttle, David Davis, F. S, D. Marshall, James Graham, 
John M. Palmer, James M. Campbell, John Huston, John 
Sibley, Peter W. Deitz, Stephen A. Hurlbut, Cyrus Ed- 
wards, E. M. West, Benaiah Robinson, George T. Brown, 
Henry D. Palmer, George W. Pace, Edward 0. Smith, 
Thomas G. C. Davis, Benjamin F. Northcott, Frederick 
Frick, Hiram Roundtree, James M. Davis, Anthony 
'Thornton, Newton Cloud, James Dunlap, Samuel D. 
Lockwood, William Thomas, James A. James, John D. 
Whiteside, Daniel J. Pinckney, H. B. Jones, John Crain, 
Wm. W. Thompson, Lincoln B. Knowlton, Onslow Peters, 
Wm. R. Archer, Harvey Dunn, William A. Grimshaw, 
Montgomery Blair, William Sim, Oaks Turner, Ezekiel 
W. Bobbins, Richard B. Servant, Alfred Kitchell, John 
W. Spencer, John Dawson, James H. Matheny, Ninian 
W. Edwards, Stephen T. Logan, N. M. Knapp, Daniel 
Dunsmore, William A. Minshall, Edward Evey, 'Wm. W. 
Roman, Wm. C. Kinney, John McCulley, George Bunsen, 
Seth B. Farwell, Thomas B. Carter, William H. Holmes, 
Henry R. Green, Samuel Hunsaker, John Canady, John 
W. Vance, Charles H. Constable, Abner C. Harding, 
Zenos H. Vernor, James M. Hogue, Aaron G. Jackson, 
S. Snowden Hayes, Daniel Hay, Samuel J. Cross, Selden 
M. Church, Robert J. Cross, John T. Loudon, Willis Allen, 
Hugh Henderson, William McClure. 

-32 



498 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Politically, this convention was rather evenly balanced. 
On the Democratic side there were such representatives as 
Zadok Casey, John Dement, John M. Palmer, Anthony 
Thornton, Walter B. Scates, Willis Allen, L. B. Knowl- 
ton, Thompson Campbell ; and among the Whigs, Archi- 
bald Williams, James W. Singleton, Henry E. Dummer, 
Jesse 0. Norton, Stephen A. Hurlbut, David Davis, Cyrus 
Edwards, Samuel D. Lockwood, Stephen T. Logan and 
Abner C. Harding. 

The convention was in session eighty-four days. The 
constitution was voted upon and adopted by the people, 
March 6, and went into effect April 1, 1848. We note 
some of its peculiar features : It provided that the salary of 
the Governor should be $1,500; Secretary of State, $800 
and fees ; Auditor of Public Accounts, $800 and " no more ;" 
State Treasurer, $800 and " no more ;" Judges of Supreme 
Court, $1,200 and " no more ;" Circuit Judges, $1,000 and 
" no more ;" military duty was confined to " all free male 
able-bodied persons, between the ages of 18 and 45, ne- 
groes, mulattoes and Indians excepted;" a capitation tax 
was to be collected from " all able-bodied free white male 
inhabitants ;" the pay of members of the General Assembly 
was fixed at $2.00 per day for forty-two days, and $1.00' 
per day for each day thereafter, and 10 cents mileage each 
way. Article fourteen provided that "the General Assembly, 
at its first session under the amended constitution, should 
pass such laws as would effectually prohibit free persons 
of color from immigrating to and settling in this State; 
and to effectually prevent the owners of slaves from bring- 
ing them into this State for the purpose of setting them 
free." Article fifteen provided that there should be annu- 
ally assessed and collected a tax of two mills upon each 
dollar's worth of taxable property, in addition to all other 
taxes, to be kept separate and to be apportioned to the 
payment of the State indebtedness other than the canal 



APPENDIX. 499 

and school indebtedness. This article was also submitted 
to a separate vote of the people ; the vote for it was 41,- 
449; against, 31,869; majority for, 9,580. This article 
laid the foundation for the extinguishment of the State 
debt, incurred by the internal improvement system of 
1837, and it is of itself enough to immortalize the framers 
of that constitution, because it gave hope and courage to 
the people who wanted to pay the obligations of the State 
dollar for dollar, and it enabled them to do it. 

State Government — 1849-53. 

Under the constitution of 1848, a new election for State 
officers had occurred in that year, and Gov. French was 
re-elected ; William McMurtry, of Knox, was elected Lieut. - 
Governor; Horace S. Cooley, of Adams, Secretary of State; 
Thomas H. Campbell, of Randolph, x\uditor of Public Ac- 
counts ; John Moore, of McLean, Treasurer. No provision 
having been made in the constitution for an Attorney- 
General, that ofifice became extinct. 

The first session of the Sixteenth General Assembly 
convened January 1, 1849, the new constitution having 
changed the time of the meeting of the General Assembly 
from December to January. A second session convened 
October 22, and adjourned November 7, 1849. 

Lieut. -Gov. McMurtry presided over the Senate, and 
"William Smith was elected Secretary. Zadok Casey was 
elected Speaker of the House, and Nathaniel Niles Clerk. 

The duties of this General Assembly were more than 
routine legislation. A new era marked the progress of the 
State. The framers of the new constitution had adopted 
a feasible plan for providing means for relieving the State 
of its financial embarrassment, and wise legislation was 
necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the con- 
stitution, and the people happily selected many able rep- 
resentatives, among whom may be mentioned, of the 



500 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Senate, John T. Stuart of Sangamon, Joseph Gillespie of 
Madison, J. L. D. Morrison of St. Clair, William Reddick 
of LaSalle, Joel A. Matteson of Will, and Norman B. Judd 
of Cook. Of the House, were Wesley Sloan of Pope, Za- 
dok Casey of Jefferson, U. F. Linder of Clark, Thomas 
Carlin of Greene, Richard Yates of Morgan, Ninian W. 
Edwards of Sangamon, Onias C. Skinner of Adams, and 
William Kellogg of Fulton. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM, 



Internal Improvement System of 1837— Appointment of Fund Commis- 
sioners—Illinois and Michigan Canal— Board of Public Works— System 
of Kailroads— Mail Eoutes— Improvement of the llivers— $10,607,000 Ap- 
propriated by the General Assembly for Public Improvements— Who 
Voted for the Bill— Bankruptcy. 



The internal improvement system of 1837, which bank- 
rupted the State and wrecked many private fortunes, was 
a gigantic enterprise, and while it was a signal failure, 
yet it taught the people a valuable lesson. In this sys- 
tem was included, incidentally, the project of construct- 
ing the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which had been 
mooted in the message of Gov. Bond as early as 1818, 
and it continued to be the subject of discussion and legis- 
lation by every Governor and General Assembly, until 
the collapse of the whole system. The canal was regarded 
as the means above all others for the development of the 
State. The General Assembly of 1826, in a memorial ad- 
dressed to Congress, asking for a donation of lands in aid 
of the construction of the canal, gave vent to their views 



APPENDIX. 501 

upon the importance of the work in these words : " The 
construction of a canal connecting the waters of Lake 
Michigan with the Illinois river, will form an important 
addition to the great connecting links in the chain of in- 
ternal navigation, which will effectually secure the indis- 
soluble union of the confederate members of this great 
and powerful Republic. By the completion of this great 
and valuable work, the connection between the North and 
the South, the East and the West, would be strengthened 
by the ties of commercial intercourse and social brother- 
hood, and the Union of States might bid defiance to in- 
ternal commotion and sectional jealousy, and foreign inva- 
sion." Acting on this memorial. Congress passed an act 
March 2, 1827, granting some 300,000 acres of land to the 
State, in aid of the canal. Stimulated by what Congress 
had done, the Legislature passed an act, January 22, 1829, 
authorizing the construction of the canal, but the termini 
was not fixed until March 1, 1833. The total expenditures 
for the construction of the canal, under the direction of 
the Canal Commissioners and Trustees, up to 1848, when 
it was opened for business, was $6,557,681.50, (See Report 
of Auditor of Public Accounts to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1870.) The Records of the Auditor of Public 
Accounts further show that the total expenditures on this 
92 miles of waterway was over $10,000,000. This enormous 
expenditure would have built, on the prairies of Illinois, 666 
miles of railway. 

The law which authorized the internal improvement 
system was passed by the General Assembly in February, 
1837. It provided for the appointment of Fund Commis- 
sioners, whose duties were to negotiate loans of money, 
on the credit of the State, and to promote and maintain 
a general system of internal improvements. The same 
act provided for the biennial election, by the Legislature, 
of a Board of Public Works, vv^iose duty it was to take 



502 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS, 

charge of and prosecute the public improvements ; and it 
provided for the improvement of the navigation of the 
Wabash, Illinois, Eock, Kaskaskia and Little Wabash 
rivers ; the construction of a mail route from Vincennes 
to East St. Louis, and the following railroads: Cairo to 
Galena, Alton to Mt. Carmel, Alton to Shawneetown, 
Quincy to Danville and the State line, a branch from the 
Cairo and Galena via Hillsboro and Shelbyville east to 
Terre Haute ; Peoria to Warsaw, Lower Alton via Hills- 
boro, to intersect the Cairo and Galena, Belleville to 
intersect the Alton and Mt. Carmel, Bloomiugton to Pekin 
and Peoria. There was appropriated by this act $400,000 
for ihe improvement of the rivers, |250,000 for the mail 
routes, $9,460,000 for railroads, and $200,000 to counties 
in which no railroads were to be built. Provision was 
made for creating an internal improvement fund, and cer- 
tificates of stock were to be issued on the faith of the 
State. The journal of the House of that session shows 
that John Crain, John Dougherty, John Dawson, John 
Dement, Stephen A. Douglas, Jesse K. Dubois, Ninian W. 
Edwards, William F. Elkin, Augustus C. French, William 
W. Happy, John J. Hardin, John Hogan, Abraham Lin- 
coln, U. F. Linder, John A. McClernand, John Moore, 
Joseph Naper, James Shields, Robert Smith, Dan Stone 
and James Semple voted for the bill, and that Milton 
Carpenter, John Harris, William McMurtry, William A. 
Minshall and William A. Richardson voted against it. It 
will thus be seen that the internal improvement system 
was not the work of bad men, nor was it the creature of 
a combination for speculative purposes, for it was cham- 
pioned by some of the purest and ablest men of the 
State. 

In March, 1839, an act was passed by the Legislature 
providing for the construction of a railroad from Upper 
Alton via Hillsboro to Carlinville, and one from Rushville 



APPENDIX. 503 

to Era. At the same session $150,000 was appropriated 
to the improvement of the Little Wabash ; $20,000 to im- 
prove the Big Muddy; $7,000 to improve the Embarrass, 
and $20,000 for mail routes. 

In 1840, the Legislature passed an act prohibiting the 
Board of Public Works from letting any more contracts, 
and providing for the settlement of the debts incurred by 
the system, and the offices of the Board of Public Works 
and the Board of Fimd Commissioners were abolished. 

In 1841, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the 
Auditor and Treasurer of State to audit and settle the 
claims of contractors on public works. At the same ses- 
sion $100,000 was appropriated for the completion of the 
Northern Cross Kailroad. Here we have the beginning 
and ending of the legislation relating to the internal im- 
provement system, in which was included the construc- 
tion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. 

To illustrate the utter blindness of the system, we note 
the fact that Ford says, there were no previous surveys 
of the proposed roads, nor estimates of their cost of con- 
struction, and that the work was commenced on all of 
them at the same time, and at each end. Large brick 
depots were built at different points regardless as to 
whether the roads were built or not. One of these was 
burned at Equality some years ago, and another is stiU 
standmg on the bank of the Ohio river at Shawneetown, 
as a monument to the folly of that age. 

When the affairs of the internal improvement system 
were settled, it was shown that the State was involved in 
a debt of $12,000,000, with nothing to show for it. Here, 
indeed, was a crisis in the affairs of the young State. 
The population was less than half a million. There was 
neither business nor commerce ; and a loud cry went 
forth in favor of repudiation, but this was soon checked, 



504 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

and by judicious legislation the people obtained temporary- 
relief as to their personal financial burdens, and measures 
were devised for paying the public debt. It required years 
of toil and hardship, but the debt was finally paid in full, 
principal and interest, and the honor and credit of the 
State maintained. 

It is a remarkable fact that while all the roads pro- 
jected in 1837 failed of construction, private companies, 
have since built them, in whole or in part. 

Seventeenth General Assembly — 1850-52. 

The first session of the Seventeenth General Assembly 
convened January 6, 1851, and adjourned February 17. 
A second session convened June 7, 1852, and adjourned 
June 23. 

Lieut.-Gov. McMurtry presided over the Senate, and 
William Smith served as Secretary. Sidney Breese was 
elected Speaker of the House, and Isaac R. Diller Clerk. 

The work of enacting laws to conform to the new consti- 
tution, was one of the grave duties of this Assembly. Of the 
new members there were such names as John M. Palmer, 
of Macoupin ; Wm. B. Plato, of Kane, in the Senate ; and 
in the House, Isham N. Haynie, of Marion ; James C. 
Allen, of Crawford ; Sidney Breese, of Clinton ; William 
H. Snyder, of St. Clair ; S. A. Buckmaster, of Madison ; 
Wm. Thomas, of Morgan ; Anthony Thornton, of Shelby ; 
James W. Singleton, of Brown ; Jesse 0. Norton, of Will, 
and 0. M. Hatch, of Pike. 

Gov. French retired from office in January, 1853, leav- 
ing behind him an honorable record. He had been the Ex- 
ecutive when the darkest clouds of the financial storm 
hovered over the State, but had ever counseled an honest 
payment of the State's obligations, and he lived to see 
the debt almost wholly canceled. 

Gov. French was born in New Hampshire, in August, 
1808 ; he attended Harvard University ; removed to Illinois 



APPENDIX. 505 

in his youth, and as early as 18B5 became closely identi- 
fied with the politics of the State. He was a lawyer by 
profession, and was for several years President of the 
Board of Trustees of McKendree College, and Professor 
of Law in that institution. His last appearance in public 
life was as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
1862. He died at Lebanon, September 4, 1864. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
OUR FIRST RAILROADS, 



Gov. Duncan's Opposition to Railroads— Senator Gatewood's Opposition- 
Report of Committee Favoring Canals in Preference to Railroads— Num- 
ber of Miles of Railway— Number of Miles of Canal— Amount of Taxes 
Paid by Illinois Central Railway— Amount Paid by Other Railways in 
1S83— Gov. Duncan's Problem Solved. 



It will be difficult for the reader to realize, amidst the 
many grand railways which cross and re-cross the broad 
domain of Illinois, that there should have ever been any- 
body to oppose their construction, or doubt their success, 
but a study of the early legislation of the State shows that 
there was serious opposition, even among the brightest 
minds of the State. Gov. Duncan, in his message to the 
General Assembly, in 1834, gave utterance to the thought 
that it was yet to be determined whether railroads would 
be morp benefit to the State than the Illinois and Michi- 
gan canal. Said he : 

" No one who has visited the different canals and railroads 
in the United States, and compared the country through 
which they pass with the fertile lands which lie between 
the Lakes and the Mississippi, to say nothing of the un- 
bounded country that is washed by the twenty-tiye thou- 
sand miles of river and lake navigation, which this canal 
will unite by the shortest and most certain route that can 
possibly be made, can doubt that it will yield a larger 



506 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

protit upon its cost, in a very few years, than any other 
work of the kind that has ever been, or can be, con- 
structed in this country. 

" In commencing this great work it should be borne in 
mind that its utihty and success, as well as it expense, 
■will greatly depend upon the kind of improvement that the 
Legislature shall adopt, and upon the plan of its con- 
struction. Of the different plans proposed, I find that the 
Board of Canal Commissioners and my worthy prede- 
cessors, have recommended a railroad, in which I regret 
that I am compelled to differ with them in opinion. 

" In my judgment, experience has shown canals to be 
much more useful, and generally cheaper of construction, 
than railroads. When well made they require less expen- 
sive lepairs, and are continually improving, and will last 
forever, while railroads are kept in repair at a very heavy 
expense, and will last but about fifteen years. In the pres- 
ent case especially, a canal should be preferred, because 
it connects, by a short and direct route, two great naviga- 
ble waters, that wash the shores of most of the States and 
Territories of the United States and British Provinces of 
North America, and thus opening a commerce between 
the remotest parts of the continent. By using the lake 
as a feeder to this canal, a large body of water will be 
turned into the Illinois river, which will improve its navi- 
gation, and by increasing the current, will, probably, ren- 
der its shores more healthy. 

" An additional argument in favor of a canal, which 
should justly have great weight with you, is to be found 
in the fact, that it puts it in the power of every farmer 
to carry his own produce to market, which renders him 
independent of that monopoly which must always control 
the transportation on railroads. There appears to be but 
little force, in the present case, in the argument commonly 
used in favor of railroads — that transportation upon them 
is uninterrupted in winter — as this canal will be open 
several weeks longer in the fall and spring than either 
the lake or river, consequently no inconvenience can re- 
sult from its closing, especially as at that season the 
roads will be sufficiently good to accommodate all the 
traveling which will be required." (See House Journal of 
1835.) 

Acting on the views of Gov. Duncan, a committee was 

appointed by the Senate to determine which system of 

internal commerce should be adopted. The committee 



APPENDIX. 507 

gave the subject a wide consideration, and in the course 
of an elaborate report, expressed the dehberate opinion 
that canals were preferable to railroads, in these terms : 

"From all the lights of which the committee have been 
able to avail themselves, it would seem that the public 
judgment, in this State and elsewhere, has settled down 
in favor of canals in preference to railroads, wherever the 
country is peculiarly suited to their construction ; and 
there can be no doubt that nature has declared that this 
is the character of the region of country lying between 
the navigable waters of the Illinois and Lake Michigan. 
That railroads are better adapted to the speedy trans- 
portation of passengers than canals, seems to be admitted ; 
and whenever that is the main object intended to be 
effected by their construction, they are, doubtless, entitled 
to a preference over canals. But such can not be the case 
in reference to this work. 

" If we glance at the institutions and improvements of 
civilized man, in every portion of the world, we are struck 
with the fact that, in those countries, and among those 
people, where the means of promoting the happiness of 
the social state are most profoundly understood, there 
canals abound ; and there the Government has been most 
anxious to increase the facilities for internal commerce 
and inter-communication betv/een different parts of the 
same country. But we are not left to that brilliant ex- 
ample alone to cheer us to the undertaking — our neigh- 
bors, Ohio and Indiana, have profited by the wisdom and 
experience of other enlightened States, and their citizens 
are now enjoying an unparalleled prosperity, as the fruit 
of their sagacity and enterprise. Shall not Illinois do 
likewise? . . . The probable cost of the canal, to be 
supplied with water, will be $2,956,260.56." 

It will be observed, from these figures, that the com- 
mittee went into details in calculating the cost of the 
construction of the canal, as fractions of dollars form a 
part of the estimated cost. (See Senate Journal of 1835.) 
At that session William J. Gatewood, a State Senator 
from Gallatin county, and a man of eminent ability, was 
one of many who earnestly opposed legislation in favor 
of railroads, but, nevertheless, the agitation of the ques- 
tion continued, and in 1839, the completion of the first 



508 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

railroad in the State, known as the Northern Cross Rail- 
road, was celebrated, and George Gregory, now of Spring- 
field, run its first locomotive. The road extended from 
Jacksonville to Meredosia, a distance of twenty-four miles ; 
it was built by the State, and laid with fiat iron. In 
1841, it was extended from Jacksonville to Springfield, and 
in 1845, from Jacksonville to Naples. The State operated 
the road until 1847, when the Legislature passed an act, 
February 16, authorizing the sale of the road between the 
Illinois river and Springfield, fifty-two miles in length, at 
public vendue. One of the peculiar features of this law 
was, that it provided for a forty years' lien upon the road, 
in order to secure the amount for which it might be sold. 
The sale took place soon after the approval of the act, 
and Nicholas H. Ridgely, of Springfield, became the pur- 
chaser, paying $21,100 in State indebtedness. Mr. Ridgely 
afterward sold Thomas Mather, of Springfield, and James 
Dunlap, of Jacksonville, each an interest. 

They changed its name to the Sangamon and Morgan 
Railroad. During the time the State had operated it but 
two engines had been obtained, and when the new owners 
took possession they found them so worn as to be unfit 
for use, and for nine months they were compelled to run 
their trains with mules. The trains consisted of two cars 
drawn by two mules. There were two trains daily, one 
of which left Springfield in the morning for Naples, and 
the other, Naples for Springfield. Reddick M. Ridgely was 
one of the conductors. 

About the close of the year 1847, the company received 
three new engines, when the services of the mules were 
dispensed with. The Legislature passed an act extending 
the charter of the road to the Indiana line, and in 1857, 
Mr. Mather visited New York and negotiated a sale of 
the road to Robert Schuyler, who was then deemed the 
great railroad manager of the country, for $100,000; 



APPENDIX. 509 

Mather and Ridgely continued stock-holders, and were 
elected local directors. In the same year Mr. Schuyler 
became the purchaser of the thirty-three miles of railroad 
between Meredosia and Camp Point, which had been built 
through the influence of Gen. James W. Singleton ; it was 
known as the Quincy and Toledo Eailroad. In 1859, the 
name was changed to the Great Western Eailway, and 
the work of extending it eastward was begun in earnest. 
In 1865, it was consolidated wdth the Toledo and Wabash 
Eailway ; January 6, 1877, the Wabash Eailway Company 
was organized, and acquired the property of the Toledo, 
Wabash and Western Eailway at foreclosure sale, in Feb- 
ruary, 1877, and in 1879, the name was changed to the 
Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Eailway. 

Now, that insignificant twenty-four miles of flat railroad is 
a part of what is known as the "Gould system," which has 
business connections from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
ocean, and is esteemed one of the greatest railway com- 
binations in the world. The company owns in fee simple, 
or operates by lease, 1,598 miles of railway in Illinois 
alone, and altogether 3,482 miles. 

In 1847, the Galena and Chicago Union Eailroad, which 
was chartered January 16, 1836, was put under construc- 
tion, and the close of 1848 found only ten miles completed. 
■The capital stock of the company was then fixed at 
$100,000, with power to increase it to $1,000,000. So 
timid were the projectors of the road that they put a 
clause in the charter which authorized them to build a 
turnpike in case they failed with the railroad. It was in 
these words : 

"That if at any time after the passage of this act it 
shall be deemed advisable by the directors of the said 
corporation to make and establish a good, permanent turn- 
pike road upon any portion of the route of the railroad 
by this act authorized to be constructed, then the said 
directors are hereby authorized and empowered to con- 
struct a turnpike on any portion of the said route." 



510 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Passing over the subsequent struggles of the road, we 
will say that from this modest beginning has grown the 
great Chicago and Northwestern Eailway, with its 3,584 
miles of unsurpassed track, traversing the Western States 
and Territories, and reaching far in the direction of the 
Pacific coast. 

The ninety-nine miles of railroad, connecting Quincy 
with Galesburg, which was built under a charter granted 
by the Legislature in 1849, by Nehemiah Bushnell, was 
bought by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 
Company, under a sale of foreclosure by the bondhold- 
ers, and it now forms an important link in the great sys- 
tem of roads operated by that rich and progressive com- 
pany. The total number of miles of main line and 
branches owned and operated by this company in Illinois 
is 853. The total number of miles in and out of the State 
is 1,674. 

February 10, 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad, which 
had been projected during the internal improvement sys- 
tem of 1837, was chartered, and Congress gave the com- 
pany every alternate section of land along its line in aid 
of its construction, in consideration of which the State 
was to receive seven per cent, of the gross earnings. The 
line of road was from Cairo to Dunleith, now East Du- 
buque, with a branch to Chicago, embracing 700 miles — 
the whole of which was completed September 27, 1856. 

The completion of this great line of railroad at once 
opened up a market for the products of the State, and 
brought the lands in active demand, and emigration 
poured in as never before. 

The United States census of 1850 had given the State 
a population of but 651,470, while that of 1860 swelled it 
to 1,711,955. 

Thus it will be seen that under the influence of this 
one railroad the State had gained in less than ten years 



APPENDIX. 511 

1,060,485 inhabitants, as against 651,470 in the thirty-two 
years previous. No grant of land to a raih-oad company 
was ever more judiciously made. It enriched alike the 
railroad company and the State. The road is one of the 
very best in the entire country, and is managed with con- 
summate skill. The company now owns, in and out of the 
State, of main lines and branches, 1,927 miles, which 
includes a continuous line from Chicago to New Orleans. 

From March 24, 1855, to October 31, 1883, this com- 
pany had paid into the State treasury, of the seven per 
cent, gross earnings, $9,476,578.99. 

Since the completion of the first 24 miles of railway in 
1839, there has been built, of main lines and branches, in 
Illinois, 8,766 miles ; and the annual report of the Eail- 
road and Warehouse Commission, for the fiscal year end- 
ing June 30, 1883, shows that there were fifty-six railroad 
companies within the State, of which we speak in detail 
in another chapter. 

As to the canal, it has cost the State over $10,000,000, 
and notwithstanding that enormous expenditure, it is still 
unfinished, being only 92 miles in length, and has long 
since ceased to be a source of revenue to the State. The 
money involved in this enterprise would have built on 
the prairies of Illinois 666 miles of railway. 

The problem suggested by Gov. Duncan has been fully 
solved. As shown by the report of the Auditor of Public 
Accounts for 1882, the aggregate tax paid to the State, 
counties, cities and towns for tha,t year, by the rail- 
roads, other than that paid by the Illinois Central, was 
$1,835,118. 

State Government — 1853-57. 

The tenth State Government 'was inaugurated with Joel 
A. Matteson, of Will, as Governor; Gustavus Koerner, of 
St. Clair, Lieutenant-Governor; David L. Gregg, of Cook, 



512 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Secretary of State ; Tliomas H. Campbell, of Randolph, 
Auditor of Public Accounts ; John Moore, of McLean, 
Treasurer. 

The first session of the Eighteenth General Assembly 
convened January 3, 1853, and adjourned February 14. 
A second session convened February 9, 1854, and adjourned 
March 4. 

Lieut.-Gov. Kcerner presided over the Senate, and E. 
E. Goodell was elected Secretary. John Reynolds was 
elected Speaker of the House, and John Calhoun Clerk. 

This Legislature became famous for passing the black 
laws, of which an extended mention has been made in a 
preceding chapter. The bill passed the House February 
5, 1853, by a vote of 45 yeas to 23 nays; seven members 
were absent, or refrained from voting. The Senate passed 
the bill February 11, as it came from the House, by a 
vote of 13 yeas to 9 nays ; three Senators were absent or 
refrained from voting. On February 12, the bill received 
the approval of Gov. Matteson. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
PRINTING. 



First Newspapers in Illinois— First Books Printed— Printing Presses Then 
and Now— First Daily Papers— Chicago Papers— Papers at the Capital 
—Weekly Journals— Interior Dailies— Eminent Journalists. 



When Illinois was organized as a Territory of the United 
States, the arts of printing and journalism were in their 
infancy, not only in this, but in all countries. Research 
shows that Matthew Duncan was the pioneer journalist 
of Illinois, establishing the Herald, at Kaskaskia, in 1814. 
Prior to the establishment of the Herald legal notices were 
published, by act of December, 1813, in the Louisiana 
Territory (Missouri). 



APPENDIX. 513 

The Herald was a three-column foHo until 1816, when it 
was enlarged to a four-column folio. In 1817, Daniel P. 
■Cook and Robert Blackwell bought it. Subsequently, its 
name was changed to Intelligciicer, and in 1820 it was 
moved to Vandalia. The second paper in the State was 
the Emigrant, established as an anti-slavery paper, at 
8hawneetown, in 1818, by Henry Eddy and S. H. Kim- 
mell. The third paper, the Spectator, was established as 
an anti-slavery paper, at Edwardsville, in 1819, by Hooper 
Warren. In 1835, the number of weekly newspapers had 
multiplied to eighteen. The first daily paper in the State 
— Daily Express — was established at Chicago, in 1839, and 
the second — Democrat — in the same city, in 1840. John 
Wentworth was the editor of the latter. 

The first book or pamphlet, of which we have any knowl- 
edge, printed in Illinois, was by Matthew Duncan, at Kas- 
kaskia ; it bears date December 24, 1814. It contained an 
act establishing a Supreme Court, the letter of Judges Jesse 
B. Thomas and William Sprigg to the Legislature, challeng- 
ing the legality of the act ; the answer of the Legislature 
to the Judges, the address of Gov. Edwards to the Legis- 
lature, and the memorial of the Legislature to Congress, 
numbering, in all, 46 pages. In printing this book, there 
were but three fonts of type used — burgeois, small-pica 
and English. In an address delivered by William L. Gross 
before the Illinois State Bar Association, at Springfield, 
January 6, 1881, we find that Matthew Duncan also pub- 
lished the first volume of what is known as Pope's Digest, in 
June, 1815. These books are in the possession of Mr. Gross, 
and they show the art of printing in its most primitive 
state. 

The first printing press used in Illinois was known as the 
Franklin Ramage, which was capable of printing but one 
page of a folio newspaper at a time, with a capacity of 240 
—33 



514 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

impressions per hour. This required the services of one 
man and a boy. The next press in use was the Wash- 
ington, which printed two pages at a time, with a capacity 
of 300 impressions per hour. Then followed the power 
presses. The Konig, with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,800 
impressions per hour ; the Applegate, 5,000 to 10,000 ; the 
Hoe cylinder, 6,000 to 8,000; Hoe lightning, 10,000 to 
15,000 ; Hoe ten-cylinder, 25,000. Then came the presses 
which printed the paper complete. The Walter, with a 
capacity of 11,000 ; Bullock, 11,000 to 20,000. The Walter 
and Bullock presses print from a web or continuous 
roll of paper. The last and most successful invention in 
newspaper presses, however, is the perfecting press, whose 
capacity is 30,000 to 32,000 per hour. On this press the 
paper is printed from a web, on both sides, cut, pasted 
and folded ready for the carrier. This is equivalent to 
60,000 or 64,000 impressions per hour. 

The Inter Ocean was the first newspaper in this country 
to adopt the use of the perfecting press. The folder was- 
an invention of Mr. Walter Scott, of Scotland, who was an 
employee of the Inter Ocean office for a number of years, 
and at that time foreman of the machinery department 
of that office. For a long time the question of attaching 
a folder to the web presses had been agitating the press- 
men and press- builders, .but all attempts had failed until 
Mr. Scott perfected his experiment and attached it suc- 
cessfully to the several Bullock presses of the Inter Ocean, 
since which time his invention has been applied to all the 
web presses by whatever name manufactured, and the in- 
vention rightfully belongs to Illinois. 

Journalism did not begin in Chicago until 1833, when 
John Calhoun established the Chicago Democrat, a weekly 
paper. In 1840, the Chicago Democrat was issued as a 
daily under the editorship of John Wentworth, and in 
1858 it was consolidated with the Tribune. 



APPENDIX. 515 

In 1835 T. 0. Davis established the American as a 
weekly, which became an evening daily April 9, 1839, with 
Wm. Stuart as publisher. W. W. Brackett bought the 
Evening American in October, 1842, and changed its name 
to the Daily Express. In 1844, a company of "Whigs bought 
the Express office and established the Daily Evening Jour- 
nal, with E. L. Wilson as editor, the first number of 
which was issued April 22, of that year. This was the 
beginning of the present Chicago Evening Journal, with 
whose editorial management Andrew Shuman has been 
connected for thirty years. He became chief assistant 
editor in 1856, managing editor in 1861, and editor-in- 
chief in 1878. 

April 4, 1840, Charles N. Halcomb & Co. issued the 
Weekly Tribune, the first newspaper of that name in the 
United States. The first number of the Daily Tribune 
M'as issued July 10, 1847. Its owners were James Kelly, 
John E. Wheeler and J. C. K. Forrest, the two last named 
being the editors. August 23, 1848, John L. Seripps be- 
came editor and owner. In September, 1855, Dr. Charles 
H. Eay, J. C. Vaughn and J. Medill became editors, and 
continued as such until July 1, 1858, when the Democratic 
Press and the Tribune were consolidated. Dr. Ray, J. 
Medill, J. L. Seripps and Wm. Bross became the editors. 
In 1861, Mr. Seripps was appointed Postmaster of Chi- 
cago, when his editorial connection with the Tribune 
ceased. Horace White became editor of the Tribune Jan- 
uary 20, 1867, and retired November 10, 1874, since which 
time J. Medill has been editor-in-chief. His brother, S. 
J. Medill, was managing editor from 1874 to the time of 
his death, which occurred in February, 1883. 

Of the subsequent dailies in Chicago, which are now in 
existence. The Times was established in 1851, with James 
W. Sheahan editor, until 1861, when he was succeeded by 
W. F. Storey; the Illinois Staats Zeitung was established 



516 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

in 1855; Demokrat, in 1870. John Y. Scammon estab- 
lished the Inter Ocean, in 1872, on the ruins of the Chi- 
cago Republican. In the latter part of that year the Inter 
Ocean was purchased by a stock company, and shortly 
after, William Penn Nixon became business manager, and 
subsequently secured a controlling interest, and the paper 
is now conducted under his direction. In 1870, the Neue 
Freie Presse was established ; in 1875, the News; in 1876, 
the Arheiter Zeitung, and in 1881, the Herald. 

From first to last there have been printed many news- 
papers at the Capital, of which there are but seven in 
existence. The Illinois State Journal was established in 
1831, under the name of Sangavio Journal; the first num- 
ber of the Daily Journal was issued in 1848. The State 
Register was established at Vandalia in 1836, but was re- 
moved to Springfield when the capital was removed; the 
first number of the Daily Register was issued in 1848. 
The Illinois Freie Presse was established in 1872 ; the 
Sangavio Monitor, in 1873 ; the Daily Monitor, in 1877 ; the 
Staats Wochenblait, in 1878 ; the Evening Post, in 1880, and 
the Saturday Mirror, in 1883. 

Among the older weekly papers published in the 
interior portions of the State, we find the following: 
Journal, Jacksonville, established 1831 ; Gazette, Galena, 
1834 ; Herald, Quincy, 1835 ; Telegraph, Alton, 1836 ; Taze- 
well County Republican, Pekin, 1836 ; Home Journal, Lacon, 
1837 ; Whig, Quincy, 1837 ; Advocate, Belleville, 1839; Regis- 
ter, Mt. Carmel, 1839; Register, Rockford, 1840; Signal, 
Joliet, 1842; Republican, Ottawa, 1844; Lake County 
Patriot, Waukegan, 1845 ; Beacon, Aurora, 1846 ; Pantagraph, 
Bloomington, 1846 ; Gazette, Carrollton, 1846 ; Atlas, Mon- 
mouth, 1846. 

Of the dailies in Illinois, outside of Chicago and Spring- 
field, we find the following, as given in Rowell's Newspaper 
Directory for 1884. They are given chronologically: 



APPENDIX. 517 

Whig, Quincy, established 1848; Gazette, Galena, 1848; 
Herald, Quincy, 1849; Argus, Kock Island, 1851; Trans- 
cript, Peoria, 1855; Pantagraph, Bloomington, 1857 ; Demo- 
krat, Peoria, 1860 ; Union, liock Island, 1861 ; Telegraph, 
Alton, 1861; National Democrat, Peoria, 1865; Journal, 
Jacksonville, 1866; Bulletin, Cairo, 1868; Leader, Bloom- 
ington, 1869 ; Evening lieineiv, Peoria, 1869 ; RepiiUican 
Register, Galesburg, 1870 ; News, Aurora, 187*2 ; Republican, 
Decatur, 1872 ; Journal, Mattoon, 1878 ; Register, Piockford, 
1873 ; Zeitung und Stern, Belleville, 1874 ; Republican and 
Sun, Joliet, 1874 ; Germania, Quincy, 1874; Democrat, Alton, 
1874; Neivs, Danville, 1876; News, Elgin, 1876; Ulinois 
Courier, Jacksonville, 1876; Evening Post, Aurora, 1877; 
Republican, Braidwood, 1877 ; Bulletin, Freeport, 1877 ; 
Neivs, Joliet, 1877 ; Times, Ottawa, 1877 ; Journal, Peoria, 
1877; News, Quincy, 1877; Argus, Cairo, 1878; Commer- 
cial, Danville, 1878; Review, BecRtur, 1818; Frank, 'Elgin, 
1878; Journal, Lnicoln, 1878; Dispatch, Moline, 1878; 
Journal, Freeport, 1879; Sornie, Peoria, 1879; Gazette, 
Rockford, 1879; Morning Herald, Decatur, 1880; Journal, 
Ottawa, 1880; Bulletin, Bloomington, 1881; Advocate, El- 
gin, 1881 ; Times, Pekin, 1881 ; Free Press, Streator, 1881 ; 
Monitor, Streator, 1882 ; Gazette, Sterling, 1882 ; Express, 
Aurora, 1882 ; Evening Eye, Pioodhouse, 1882 ; Neivs-Dem- 
ocrat, Belleville, 1883; Daily Gazette, Champaign, 1883; 
Republican, Moline, 1883; Evening Gazette, Monmouth, 
1883; Times, Lincoln, 1884; Daily Sentinel, Centralia, 1884. 

Ro well's Directory for 1884, places the total number of 
papers, weeklies and dailies, in Illinois, at 1,009. 

We have spoken of the wonderful improvements made 
in printing presses, and now a word is due journalism 
generally, and we hazard nothing in saying that the 
weekly papers in Illinois are not surpassed by those of 
any State in the Union, as regards their moral tone, in- 
dependence of character, neatness in make-up, local 



518 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

interest or editorial ability, while the daily press stands 
unrivaled. 

The Illinois Press Association, which was organized in 
1866, has done much toward elevating the character and 
advancing the interests of the profession. 

With the journalism of Illinois there have been con- 
nected many eminent men, who have taken a prominent 
part in shaping the politics or destiny of the State, and 
we call to mind a few who have been a power in its 
councils : Henry Eddy, Shawneetown, who was the editor 
of the Illinois Emigrant, and wielded a vigorous pen in 
1823, in opposition to the attempt to make Illinois a slave 
State; Eev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, Alton; John Wentworth, 
C. L. Wilson, Jas. W. Sheahan, T. Lyle Dickey, C. H. Ray, 
Joseph Medill, A. C. Hessing, Andrew Shuman, Horace 
White, John L. Scripps, W. E. Storey, Wm. Bross, Herman 
Raster, Herman Lieb, Samuel J. Medill, W. K. Sullivan, 
Chicago ; Austin Brooks, Quincy ; John W. Merritt, Salem ; 
E. R. Roe, Bloomington ; George Scroggs, Champaign; 

C. H. Lanphier, who commenced his apprenticeship in 
the State Register, and afterwards became sole proprietor ; 

D. L. PhiUips, John M. Palmer, John A. McClernand, 
who established, edited and published the first Democratic 
newspaper in Southern Illinois; George Walker, Simeon 
Francis, who established the Sangamo Journal, Spring- 
field; Enoch Emery, Peoria; W. W. Sellers, Pekin. We 
might swell this list indefinitely, but this will suffice to 
show that the men who have guided the press of the State 
have not lacked in ability or force of character. 



APPENDIX. 619 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1854-56. 



The Nineteenth General Assembly convened January 1, 
1855, and adjourned February 15. 

Lieut. -Gov. Koerner presided over the Senate, and Geo. 
T. Brown was elected Secretary. Thomas J. Turner was 
■elected Speaker of the House, and Edwin T. Bridges Clerk. 

Among the familiar names in this Legislature were 
these: In the Senate, Norman B. Judd, Burton C. Cook, 
John M. Palmer, Silas L. Bryan and Joseph Gillespie; 
and in the House, Wm. J. Allen, S. W. Moulton, Stephen 
T. Logan, Chauncey L. Higbee and Owen Lovejoy. 

One of the important duties devolving upon this Legis- 
lature was the election of a United States Senator, to 
succeed Senator Shields, and the two houses met in joint 
session February 8, and balloted for Senator. James 
Shields was the Democratic candidate, and Abraham 
Lincoln the Whig. On the first ballot Shields received 41 
votes ; Lincoln, 45 ; scattering, 13. On the second. Shields 
received 41 ; Lincoln, 43 ; scattering, 15. On the third, 
Shields received 41; Lincoln, 41; scattering, 16. On the 
fourth, Shields received 41; Lincoln, 38; scattering, 19. 
On the fifth. Shields received 42 ; Lincoln, 34 ; scattering, 
23. On the sixth, Shields received 41 ; Lincoln, 36 ; scat- 
tering, 21. On the seventh Shields' name was withdrawn, 
and that of Joel A. Matteson substituted, who on this 
ballot received 44; Lincoln, 38; scattering, 16. On the 
-eighth, Matteson received 46 ; Lincoln, 27 ; scattering, 25. 
Oa the ninth, Matteson received 47; and Lincoln's name 
having been withdrawn, Trumbull received 35 ; scattering, 
16. On the tenth, Trumbull received 51; Matteson, 47; 



520 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

scattering, 1. Mr. Trumbull having received a majority 
of all the votes cast, was declared by the Speaker Sen- 
ator-elect. 

This was at the time of the Kansas-Nebraska excite- 
ment. John M. Palmer, Norman B. Judd and B. C. 
Cook were anti-Nebraska Democrats, and it was expected 
that they would vote for Mr. Lincoln, which, with the 
vote of Henry S. Baker, an anti- Nebraska Whig, would 
have secured his election; but when Mr. Lincoln found, 
through his friend John T. Stuart, whom he had author- 
ized to wait upon these gentlemen, that they could not 
vote for Mr. Lincoln, for the reason that they were in- 
structed by their constituents to vote for an anti-Nebraska 
Democrat, then it was that Mr. Lincoln, standing in 
the lobby, reached over with his long arm, touched a 
member of the House and directed him to withdraw his 
name, which being done, Mr. Trumbull was elected on 
the next ballot. This was the first break in the political 
control of the State by the Democratic party since its 
organization, and the election of Lyman Trumbull as an 
outspoken anti-slavery man was the forerunner of the or- 
ganization of the Eepublican party in 1856. 

Eailroads. 

It seems almost incredible to say, that in 1841 there 
was but one Railroad in Illinois, and that it was laid with 
flat iron, and only twenty-four miles in length, or that 
for a time its cars were drawn by mules, but such is the 
true beginning of Railroad building in the State. The 
termini of this road were Jacksonville and Meredosia. 
From that one, the number has increased to fixty-six, 
whose aggregate number of miles, in main lines and 
branches, is 8,766. We enumerate them as they are given 
in the annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse 
Commission for 1883: 



APPENDIX. 521 

Baltimore & Ohio & Chicago, 262,60; Belt Railway, 
of Chicago, 23.67; Central Iowa Hail way, 504; Chicago & 
Alton, 849.78; Chicago & Atlantic, 249.10; Chicago & 
Eastern Illinois, 247.50 ; Chicago & Grand Trunk, 330.50 ; 
Chicago & Iowa, 104; Chicago & Northwestern, 3,584.10; 
Chicago & Western, 1.50; Chicago & Western Indiana, 
27.90; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, 1,673.52; Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul, 4,514.22; Pekin & Southwestern, 
85.50 ; Rock Island & Pacitic, 1,380.42 ; St. Louis & Pitts- 
burgh, 580.50; Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chi- 
cago, 342.91 ; Danville, Olney & Ohio River, 86.10 ; East 
St. Louis & Carondelet Railway, 11.50; East St. Louis 
Connecting Railway, 2.66; Fulton County Narrow Gauge 
Railway, 61 ; Grand Tower & Carbondale, 24.21 ; Grand 
Trunk Junction, 3.90 ; Illinois, St. Louis and Coal, 25 ; 
Illinois Central, 1,927.78 ; Illinois Midland Railway, 173.13 ; 
Indiana & Illinois Southern Railway, 56 ; Indiana, Bloom- 
ington & Western, 685.20; Indiana, Illinois & Iowa, 110; 
Indianapolis & St. Louis, 266.20; Jacksonville Southeast- 
ern Railway, 82.90 ; Kankakee & Seneca, 42.30 ; Lake Erie 
& Western Railway, 386.91 ; Lake Shore & Michigan South- 
ern Railway, 1,339.54; Louisville & NashviUe, 2,065.27; 
Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Railway, 249.13; Louis- 
ville, New Albany & Chicago, 446; Michigan Central, 270; 
Moline & Southeastern, 8 ; New York, Chicago & St. Louis, 
523 ; Ohio & Mississippi Railway, 616.20 ; Pennsylvania Co., 
467.97 ; Peoria & Pekin Union Railway, 18 ; Peoria, Deca- 
tur & Evansville, 240.69 ; Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, 
580.50; Rock Island & Mercer Co., 26.71; Rock Island c^ 
Peoria, 91 ; St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute, 137 ; St. Louis 
& Cairo, 151.60; St. Louis Coal, 92.66; St. Louis, Rock 
Island & Chicago, 307,67 ; Sycamore, Cortland & Chicago, 
4.90; Terre Haute & Indianapolis, 159.13; Toledo, Cin- 
cinnati & St. Louis, 781.96 ; Union Stock Yards & Transit 
Co., 50; Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway, 3,482.40. 



622 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Poor's Railroad Manual, for 1883, reports the whole 
number of miles of Kailroad in the United States at 
113,907. In this Manual it is shown that Illinois has 
more miles of railway than any other State in the Union ; 
the number of miles given her were 8,722. New York 
ranks next to Illinois ; she had 7,037 ; Iowa, 6,962 ; Penn- 
sylvania, 6,792 ; Ohio, 6,931 ; Texas, 6,006 ; while the other 
States and Territories have from 211 miles to 4,646. 
Ehode Island has a less number of miles of railway than 
any State or Territory in the Union, having only 211 
miles. 

Manufacturing and Mining. 

Some idea may be obtained as to the progress made in 
the industries of the State by consulting the following 
statement, which is based upon the census of the United 
States and the records of the Auditor of Public Accounts : 

In 1860, the census returns'showed that Illinois had 4,268 
manufacturing establishments, with $27,548,563 capital 
invested. There were 22,489 employees. There was paid 
out for labor, $7,637,921. The value of the products was 

$57,580,886. 

In 1880, the number of manufacturing establishments 
was shown to be 13,347. The capital invested was $117,- 
273,585. There were 126,547 employees. There was paid 
out for labor $53,693,461. The value of the products was 
$346,454,393. 

In 1860, there were seventy-three coal mines in operation. 
The capital invested was $3,169,290. The number of em- 
ployees was 1,483. The number of tons of coal mined was 
728,400. 

In 1880, there were 590 coal mines in operation. The capi- 
tal invested was $10,416,552. The number of employees was 
16,301. The number of tons of coal mined was 6,115,377. 



appendix. 523 

Physical Resources. 

Oa the physical resources of a State is dependent every- 
thing that contributes to make it great and grand, and 
Illinois possesses these elements in an eminent degree. 
In her onward march in greatness and wealth, agriculture 
and its kindred pursuits have kept pace with the rapid 
progress in other branches of industry, and a retrospect 
reference to the primitive days of agriculture will be pleas- 
ing and instructive. In contrast with the early mode of 
doing farm work, we print an extract from an elaborate 
paper from the pen of W. C, Flagg, now deceased, of 
Moro, in 1876, which gives a vivid picture of early farming : 
" Forty or fifty years ago the mould-boards of the plows 
were made of wood, which was possibly, in some cases, 
covered with hoop-iron. These plows were about the only 
implements used in working with the soil, harrows with 
wooden teeth and rollers being poorly made and but little 
used. Corn-planters had not yet superseded the bare- 
footed boys and girls, and wheat drills were entirely un- 
known. The grain cradle, a great improvement on the 
sickle, though used in Madison county, it is said, as early 
as 1819, was but just coming into vogue. Grass was 
still cut with the scythe and raked with hand-rakes. 
Wheat and other grain was tramped out with horses, 
who traveled in a circle over a carefully-adjusted ring of 
bundles, laid with heads lapping ovw the butts and to- 
wards the coming hoofs, — all this has changed. The gang 
and sulkey plows have increased the capacity of human 
labor and decreased its severity. Machines drill the wheat, 
cut and even bind the grain, and thresh and winnow it. 
Machines cut, rake, load and pitch the hay." 

The records of the Auditor of Public Accounts show the 
aggregate number of acres of cultivated land in 1860 to 
have been 7,364,626. 



524 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

The aggregate value of real estate in 1860 was $189,- 
286,287. The aggregate value of personal property was 
$88,884,115. The aggregate value of railroad property was 
$12,085,472. 

The aggregate number of acres in cultivation in 1880 
was 34,511,445. 

The aggregate value of real estate in 1880 was $398,- 
338,737. The aggregate value of personal property was 
$165,091,710. The aggregate value of railroad property 
was $47,365,259. 

These figures show a marvelous progress in the industries 
which make a State rich and powerful, and the imagin- 
ation will fail to foretell what is to be the future power 
or greatness of the State. 

Public Charities. 

In 1869, for the better care and protection of the pub- 
lic charities of the State, the Legislature passed an act 
creating a Board of Public Charities, with power to super- 
vise and direct the management of all the charitable institu- 
tions ; to examine the grounds, construction of buildings 
and methods of instruction, general care of the inmates, 
the expenditure of moneys, and to see that all parts of 
the State shared equally in the benefits of the several in- 
stitutions. The board has now been in existence fifteen 
years, and the wisdom of its creation has been fully attested, 
for its labors have been crowned with wonderful success, 
for none of the States exercise a more wise, economical 
or humane care over its unfortunate citizens. 

The board has had the good fortune to secure the ser- 
vices of an unusually competent and devoted Secretary, 
in the person of the Eeverend Frederick Howard Wines, 
formerly pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, in Springs 
field, who has consecrated his life to the improvement of the 



APPENDIX. 525 

condition of all classes of the unfortunate, through better 
organization and administration of the agencies for their 
relief throughout the United States. Mr. Wines has held 
the important trust of Secretary of the State Board of 
Public Charities since its organization. 

Judiciary. 

It is a notable fact that the judiciary of Illinois has 
been as able as that of any State in the Union, and wholly 
unsullied in character. There liave been but two attempts 
to impeach its character, and they were in the cases of 
Theophilus W. Smith and Thomas C. Browne, both mem- 
bers of the Supreme Court. In 1833, there was an effort 
made to impeach Judge Smith before the General Assem- 
bly on some imaginary ground, but the charges were not 
sustained, and the second and last attempt to remove a 
Judge was in the case of Mr. Browne, by address of the 
General Assembly, on some whimsical charge, but this also 
failed, and thus the judiciary of Illinois stands with an 
unblemished character. 

The following persons have been honored with seats 
upon the Supreme bench, either by appointment or elec- 
tion, and the Court is now composed of the seven last 
named : Joseph Phillips, Thomas C. Browne, William P. 
Foster, Thomas Reynolds, John Reynolds, William Wil- 
son, Samuel D. Lockwood, Theophilus W. Smith, Thomas 
Ford, Sidney Breese, Walter B. Scates, Samuel H. Treat, 
Stephen A. Douglas, John D. Caton, James Semple, 
Richard M. Young, John M. Robinson, Jesse B. Thomas, 
James Shields, Gustavus Koerner, William A. Denning, 
Lyman Trumbull, Onias C. Skinner, Corydon Beckwith, 
Charles B. Lawrence, Anthony Thornton, William K. 
McAllister, David J. Baker, Pinkney H. Walker, T. Lyle 
Dickey, Benjamin R. Sheldon, John M. Scott, John 
Scholfield, John H. Mulkey, Alfred M. Craig. 



626 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS OF ILLINOIS. 

Norman L. Freeman has been Eeporter of the Supreme 
Court since April, 1863. 

In the recent death of Judge Charles B. Lawrence, the 
legal profession has lost one of its ablest and most honored 
members. Mr. Lawrence succeeded Judge Beckwith upon 
the Supreme bench in January, 1864, and was succeeded 
by Judge Craig in 1873, when he devoted himself to the 
practice of his profession. 

With an honest and untrammeled ballot, and a pure 
judiciary to construe the laws, Illinois will ever remain 
in the front rank of the great States of the National Union. 



